Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1371139
20 May/June 2021 Tablets & Capsules Continuous versus batch pharmaceutical manufacturing Q&A continuous manufacturing On December 1, 2020, Parsolex and Syntegon Pharma Tech- nology hosted a technical forum entitled "Solving Scale-Up and Technical Challenges in Batch and Continuous Pharma- ceutical Production" in West Lafayette, IN, and online. This article contains excerpts from the forum as well as additional comments concerning the application of continuous manufac- turing processes in the pharmaceutical industry. What are the benefits of continuous manufacturing? Stacy Pearce, PE, manager, manufacturing solutions, Parsolex: The generally accepted benefit of continuous manufacturing is improved product quality; however, another benefit is improved efficiency. One of the main goals of any produc- tion process is to achieve lean manufacturing—minimizing waste while maximizing productivity. Given the high cost of many active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), the benefits of reducing unnecessary waste from a pharmaceutical process cannot be overstated. Batch-based processes are less efficient than continuous processes, owing to increased waste, longer production cycles, and increased intermediate inventory.