Software Increases Pharmaceutical Productivity

Pharmatis, specialized in the contract manufacturing of liquids and ointments, decided to automate its central weighing processes and ensure IT security for formulation. They upgraded their weighing system by using FormWeigh.net® software and hardware. "We have achieved greater pharmaceutical safety and productivity since implementing the FormWeigh.Net,” declares Mr. Piha, the site's production department manager.

In 2006, Pharmatis decided to automate its central weighing processes and ensure IT security for formulation.
Initial contacts with producers of formulation software packages were made at the end of 2006, and in 2007 official consultations began.

As a specialist in industrial weighing and laboratory instrumentation and already a supplier of several balances on the site, METTLER TOLEDO quickly established itself as one of the possible providers for the new formulation software. With its FormWeigh.Net® software, METTLER TOLEDO offered an ideal solution for automating formulation. Because of its modular structure, FormWeigh.Net® meets the specific requirements and can interface easily with the existing ERP system.

"The responsiveness of the METTLER TOLEDO technical sales team was a decisive factor in our decision", explains Mr. Clément, director of Operations at Pharmatis. "We received an answer to all our specific requirements", adds Mr. Van Hyfte, IT Manager at Pharmatis. In place since March 2008, the new software package has provided 100% user satisfaction. All the raw materials, excipients and active ingredients, will now be identified with a barcode label on entering the storage area. The operator receives his job instructions on the screen of the ID30 indicator located in the weighing terminal and identifies its raw materials with the aid of a barcode reader.

For optimum security, a calibration check of the balances is routinely requested before any weighing operation. Then the operator proceeds to weigh each material included in the current batch. Thanks to the interface between the Pharmatis CRM system, which contains all the data in the raw materials database, and the FormWeigh.Net® software, it is possible to display information on the safety of the weighed product automatically, in the form of a pictogram. The operator continues weighing using a bar chart which indicates the accepted tolerance zone. "We have achieved considerably greater pharmaceutical safety and productivity since implementing the FormWeigh.Net® software", declares Mr. Piha, a pharmacist who is the site's Production department manager. "We no longer need to weigh things twice and make manual entries on the weighing indicator". Moreover, all access is managed by user passwords that guarantee the traceability of data.

Weighing: Present at Every Stage of the Production Process
In addition to weighing terminals, balances are also found all over the Pharmatis site. After the reconciliation stage, the raw materials usually enter production in mixers equipped with weighing sensors. These reaction vessels then supply several packaging lines, both for liquid and semi-solid pharmaceutical forms. In order to optimize filling and comply with the regulations, statistical checks are then made using METTLER TOLEDO SQC balances connected to the FreeWeigh.Net® software. Garvens checkweighers can be used, for example, to check the average weight and for missing items in drug packs.