Inspiring exchange about the latest applications of modern robotics in the pharmaceutical industry
For the third time, INVITE has organized the Robotics Application of the Year Award together with the ISPE-D/A/CH and the Special Interest Group Future Robotics and awarded the most outstanding applications in the fields of API production, filling, packaging, BioTec, QC laboratory, R&D laboratory and others. It was an amazing pitching day. About 150 experts in pharmaceutical automation met in the great conference center at Roche and enjoyed pitch-presentation of 15 applications selected by the jury:
- A vial handling system from Pester including the erection of the boxes.
- A Modular Robot for Testing and Inspection Engineering.
- A modular Testing and Inspection station even capable of using single used wipes for cleaning objects.
- An Automatic plasma bag-loading for packaging machines by Takeda
- An Industrial Robots Telemanipulation using SRI’s XRGo Sofware
- A Robot assisted API production by AZO
- An Automated Egg-Tray-Handling by GSC
- A Collaborative flexible Automated Tub Palletizer by Vetter and Essert
- A tub loading and unloading module from Technicon, modular and flexible.
- Filling station for personalized medicine in capsules at scale from Multiply Labs
- An Autonomous continuous air monitoring system using settle plates by MBV
- An Automated testing suite by AbbVie
- An automated QC Sample Split for vials by Roche and PharmaBotix
- Glove Minimization using AI by Optima Pharma
- Self-aware self-aware robotics enabling built-in verification and generation of audit-trail
- Human-inspired automated visual inspection for high-mix / low-volume production by Wilco
The RAYA Audience Award was once again eagerly awaited and a highlight of this year's event for many of the more than participating experts in pharmaceutical automation. 145 votes were counted and the first places went to:
1st_place: Multiply Labs with a filling station for personalized medicine in capsules at scale presented by Alice Melocchi
2nd_place: WILCO AG with their new vial inspection system presented by Christoph Herdlitschka
3rd_place: with an exactly equal number of votes, third place went to the
- vial handling system from pester pac automation GmbH, presented by Roland Wölfle, and the
- the robotic system with built-in audit trail and many other innovations from the EU funded project TraceBot, presented by Maike Neumann from BioLAGO e.V. – the health network
It was a great event to which many contributed:
- In particular, the applicants, who were the absolute highlight for all 150 participating experts with their pitch presentations and who came not only from the D-A-CH region, but also from Northern Europe, France, Italy and even California!
- Richard Denk leading our special interest group scheduling enough time for intensive networking among the participants throughout the workshop.
- Roche hosting the workshop with great generosity and the Philip Schneider and Maja Hadziselimovic leading the organization it on site.
- And of course for the ISPE D/A/CH, which has once again shown that it is the ideal place for cross-industry collaboration to advance the use of new technologies in pharmaceuticals!
I look forward to the ISPE website with all the information including the pitch presentations and the announcement for RAYA2025, which will be made soon!