On Wednesday, 20th July 2016, Prof. Kleinebudde visited INVITE and gave a presentation on Continuous Manufacturing of Solid Dosage Forms. Prof. Kleinebudde is teaching at the Institute of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf.

Continuous manufacturing of solid dosage forms is showing an increasing interest in industry and research. Prof. Kleinebudde presented the main differences between continuous and batch manufacturing and discussed the developments in the field of continuous production. The challenges with continuous production begin with the definition of a batch within the continuous production. This issue is particularly important for the exchange with the authorities. Process analytical technology integrated into a closed-loop control system for continuous manufacturing was another focus of the presentation. With respect to quality control and assessment, successful control strategies are only possible in combination with a profound process understanding. An overview of the developments of the leading equipment manufacturers for continuous manufacturing and the active research groups concluded the presentation.

The presentation was followed by a lively discussion about actual and relevant topics concerning continuous pharmaceutical production. In particular, the combination of the necessary technologies and an interdisciplinary exchange will play a significant role in the future. Prof. Kleinebudde concluded that there are still numerous exciting topics to work on and that one will not suffer from boredom.