Flexicon peristaltic dispensing pump provides innovative filling and capping solution
- Capacity issues eased at veterinary medicine manufacturer
- Flexicon equipment facilitates a sterile and isolated vial filling process
- Cost effective, compact solution
The challenge
MSD Animal Health (MSDAH) is a 350-employee company that manufactures a variety of veterinary medicines. With demand rising, existing clean-rooms were creating restrictions in throughput, and as a result MSDAH wanted to add further liquid filling and capping capacity for processing bacteria/starting materials used in the production of its animal health vaccines. Important was the need to keep the vial filling process sterile and isolated.
The solution
Working in partnership with isolator specialist, Extract Technology, the solution centred on a Flexicon PD12P peristaltic dispensing pump. A custom flange was engineered to keep the pump drive and control panel outside of the isolator, with only the pump-head sited within the unit. Both the bacterial seed culture and the excipient are mixed together in the isolator and dispensed by the peristaltic pump into vials held in stainless steel trays. The pump’s peristaltic filling action means that the product only contacts the sterile tubing and filling nozzle, eliminating the possibility of cross-contamination. A Flexicon FS10 semi-automatic tabletop cap crimping machine is used to seal the vials at rates up to 1,000 units per hour.
The outcome
The Flexicon filling and capping equipment is built into the isolator in such a way as to be controllable, accessible and easy to maintain. All other system equipment sits beneath the isolator, providing a significant saving in space, increased efficiency and a more cost effective outcome for MSDAH.