Yaopharma and Walvax rely on Körber for pharmaceutical production

Flexible solutions for high efficiency in a highly regulated industry

At the world's largest pharmaceutical trade fair CIPM, which took place in Chongqing, China, in November, pharmaceutical and biotech customers from all over the world had the opportunity to experience two high-performance machines from Körber in action. The machines were introduced by the Chinese customers Yaopharma and Walwax. They had already purchased the machines before the trade show and explained the added value of Körber machines for their production during CIPM’s premiere ceremony. 

At the 59th China International Pharmaceutical Machinery Exposition (CIPM), Körber presented for the first time the new machine generation of its Blister Expert blister and cartoning machine, whose high-speed version with a maximum output of 800 blisters per minute is ideally suited to the requirements of the Asian market. The machine was officially inaugurated at the CIPM by Mingke Cheng, Director of the Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturer Yaopharma for the Shuitu site. He purchased the machine for his site and made it available for CIPM prior to installation and commissioning there. "This is the second time that Yaopharma has worked with Körber", said Cheng. He was highly satisfied with the new machine and explained to the numerous visitors during the opening ceremony: "The Blister Expert is based on a 100% modular platform with embedded Pharma 4.0 functions. The system, which will remain highly flexible and expandable in the future, is fully digitized for the factory of the future."

Further advantages that result for Yaopharma: The modular design of the blister packaging machine makes it possible to adapt the machine to future requirements at any time, with significantly reduced downtime. If previous modules are replaced by new ones or additional modules are retrofitted, the validation effort is significantly reduced, since only the new module needs to be validated. Conversion between product changes is accelerated by tool-free format changes and the system design that avoids corners and angles. Predictive maintenance packages and guided format changes with augmented reality glasses ensure high machine availability of the systems, reduce potential sources of error by operators and shorten the training times for new employees.

China's leading vaccine manufacturer Walvax relies on Körber inspection machine "DE.SY.RE”

The second machine at the Körber booth, a Seidenader DE.SY.RE inspection machine, will be put into operation after the show at a site of China's leading vaccine manufacturer Walvax. Junxin Huang, Director Intelligence Manufacturing and Implementation Management, reported enthusiastically about his new acquisition during the opening speech of the Körber booth at the CIPM: "We are very happy about the purchase of the inspection machine! The DE.SY.RE will be used for the production of our latest vaccines in the international production center." 

The high-performance inspection system DE.SY.RE inspects syringes, cartridges and vials of different sizes for defects and contamination quickly, precisely and without contact. Up to 36,000 containers per hour are individually fed to the inspection module in the de-nester by a Delta robot, inspected and then re-nested safely and completely in a nest. Customers like Walvax can rely on the gentle, contactless handling of the products to prevent scratches and glass breakage, avoid the formation of air bubbles in the liquid and thus reduce the system's reject rate. To ensure reliable comparability and reproducibility of inspection results, each container is inspected independently of speed by each camera within the inspection module. All components of the inspection system can be adapted to customer requirements: from individual rotation profiles for each product to up to 24 images per high-resolution camera, automatic re-inspection for defined defects or, if desired, a leak test with high voltage.

Körber customers benefit from a comprehensive pharmaceutical portfolio from a single source 

The Business Area Pharma of the international technology group Körber offers customers from the pharmaceutical and biotech industries a comprehensive portfolio of consulting, inspection, handling, packaging machines and materials, track & trace and software. In addition to the inspection machine, Walvax has also expressed its interest in other Körber products. "We are currently talking to the pharmaceutical experts at Körber about a production control system. The market-leading Manufacturing Execution Software PAS-X will help us to better integrate all our manufacturing facilities," Junxin Huang is convinced.

In an interview at the CIPM, Bin Jiang, General Manager of Chinese biotech company Hybio Pharmaceuticals for the site in Pingshan, confirms the consistently high quality of the cooperation with Körber: "All Körber products are characterized by a particularly high technology level, which I have never seen before with any other supplier in this form," says Bin Jiang. With the Dividella NeoTOP 804 TM, he has just purchased a top-loading machine for his production. "All Körber products are precisely in line with the requirements of our highly regulated industry, which is really impressive.”

"Our customers know that at Körber they will find an integrated range of solutions that reduces the complexity in their pharmaceutical production while at the same time increasing efficiency," says Jerry Zheng, General Manager of Körber's Business Area Pharma at the company's site in China, delighted with the praise from customers. "From packaging development and production facilities to consulting and software, our customers can rely on us to understand the challenges of highly regulated pharmaceutical production and to work with them to develop solutions giving them everything they need to unlock the potential of their productivity and their business.”