AstraZeneca Sverige introduces viewers to its pharmaceutical production facility in Södertälje, Sweden, in this 2016 video to provide an overview of manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) powders.
The video begins with a segment on how the plant receives raw materials from trucks and tankers before moving on to an overview of the health and safety measures used in the facility.
Viewers are then taken on a guided tour of the AstraZeneca production site and workers pour solvents and chemicals into reactors. The ingredients are mixed and heated to start a reaction in a moist, pasty consistency. The solvents are removed by boiling, then the material is cooled and crystallized to form a suspension.
Filtration is used to remove moisture from the suspension before a drying process turns it into a powder. API powder is sent to a formulation process, where it is mixed with solvents, pharmaceutical excipients and binding agents in a machine. A fluid bed dryer removes the moisture, then other pharmaceutical excipients are added to the mixture. Finally, the API powder is sent to a tablet production line where it is compressed into tablets for consumer use. The tablets are coated during the final production step.
Professionals in the powder and bulk solids industry should take note of the range of equipment and processes used to create these essential products.
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