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Faster, smarter production

Rýchlejší vývoj liekov

Pfizer transformed tablet and capsule production with continuous manufacturing, automation, and digitalization. The result is faster production, greater flexibility, consistent quality, and improved supply for patients worldwide.

From data to better medicines

Medications from Pfizer, urgently needed to help people get healthy and enjoy a good quality of life, must be continuously available to patients worldwide in consistent quality. To ensure this is the case, Pfizer is further automating and digitalizing the production of tablets and capsules at its Freiburg site.

“We are making good progress toward Industrie 4.0,” says Michael Becker, who heads Global Engineering at Pfizer in Germany. Without digitalization the current project would not have been possible.

At the production facility in Freiburg, data is recorded and analyzed at billions of points every millisecond. The data is used by the control system, which makes it possible to respond directly to the measurement results. “Quality is measured continuously, and the control system responds directly,” comments Becker. No more testing in the lab, and no need even for sampling. Everything runs automatically.

Pfizer transformed tablet and capsule production with continuous manufacturing, automation, and digitalization.

With a new automation and digitalization solution, Pfizer is aiming for continuous, fast, and flexible tablet manufacture.

Close to the “dream of every pharmacist”

Becker describes the dream of every pharmacist like this: “You put in all the ingredients at the start of the process, and out comes a finished capsule at the end.” With Continuous Manufacturing Technology (CMT), Pfizer is a little closer to making that dream a reality. The food and beverage industry led the way, and employees at Pfizer in Groton, Connecticut, USA, developed continuous manufacturing technology on that basis. CMT is now being introduced around the world, including in Freiburg.It makes production much faster and more flexible. In recent years, Becker has noticed that demand for medications is fluctuating more and more. Pfizer’s Freiburg location used to need up to four months to adjust to changes in volume. “But thanks to CMT, we now can just make a small adjustment in order for the plant to run faster or slower,” says Becker. “In other words, you can adapt to a new market situation in a matter of minutes.”

MES as the central element

The Manufacturing Execution System (MES) assumes a key role in the IT and automation project for Pfizer’s manufacturing facility in Freiburg: It forms the link between the process control system and the Electronic Batch Record (EBR) system that documents production electronically, manages all of the equipment and the process chains, and integrates all higher and lower-level systems to form an end-to-end solution for data recording and processing.

The automation solution is based on Simatic IT. To control the new plant units, the project team used powerful, high-availability Simatic S7 controllers and a Simatic WinCC SCADA system to visualize the processes. In addition to the shelf servicing unit in the high-rack store, which uses a Simatic S7-1500 as its head PLC, a vertical conveyor was also incorporated in the new MES solution to supply the equipment on the first and second floors with bulk and granulate containers. The individual systems work together seamlessly and enable the processes to function smoothly.

Robotic arm on an automated production line.

Optimalizovaná logistika

Keď sa spoločnosť Pfizer rozhodla rozšíriť výrobu pomocou nového nepretržitého závodu, potrebovala tiež, aby systémy na prepravu materiálu a riadenie výroby boli na jednotnej platforme. To znamenalo, že do automatizovaných systémov prepravy materiálu a automatizácie procesov museli byť integrované mnohé výrobné fázy a jednotka na údržbu regálov so 120 veľkými vreckami. Nové budovy pre kontinuálnu výrobu boli tiež vybavené automatizovanými systémami na nepretržité váženie a výrobu, ako aj systémom elektronickej dokumentácie procesov.

Životné prostredie je tiež jedným z víťazov

„Spoločnosť Pfizer vždy berie do úvahy životné prostredie,“ hovorí Becker. „Prijímame end-to-end pohľad a snažíme sa do našich procesov čo najviac zahrnúť systémy šetrné k životnému prostrediu.“ Len v tomto projekte bola preprava surovín nákladným automobilom znížená o takmer 50 percent. Solárne termické systémy vysušia vzduch potrebný na výrobu, LED diódy poskytujú osvetlenie v celej budove a teplo aj chlad vznikajúce pri procesoch sa rekuperujú.

Práca v Nemecku ako krajine s vysokou mzdou

Jedna otázka, na ktorú Becker pravidelne odpovedá je, či stojí za to investovať do automatizovanej a digitalizovanej výroby v krajine s vysokou mzdou, ako je Nemecko. „Nemecko je vysoko vzdelaná krajina,“ poznamenáva. „Naši zamestnanci sú veľmi kvalifikovaní na prevádzku a tiež na pochopenie automatizovaných systémov. A tak, s vysokou úrovňou automatizácie, tu môžeme vyrábať rovnako efektívne ako v krajine s nižšími mzdovými nákladmi — možno ešte viac.“

The environment is also one of the winners

“Pfizer always considers the environment,” says Becker. “We adopt an end-to-end view and try to include environmentally friendly systems in our processes as much as possible.” In this project alone, the transportation of raw materials by truck was cut by almost 50 percent. Solar thermal systems dry the air needed for production, LEDs provide lighting throughout the building, and the heat and cooling resulting from processes is recovered.

Working in Germany as a high-wage country

One question Becker is regularly asked is whether it’s worthwhile to invest in automated and digitalized production in a high-wage country like Germany. “Germany is a highly educated country,” he observes. “Our employees are very well qualified to operate and also to understand automated systems. And thus, with a high level of automation in place, we can manufacture just as efficiently here as in a country with lower wage costs – perhaps even more so.”

Mnohé zvýšenia efektívnosti

Vďaka novému riešeniu automatizácie a digitalizácie môže spoločnosť Pfizer neustále monitorovať všetky procesy vo svojom mieste vo Freiburgu a tým ďalej zlepšovať svoje štandardy kvality. Procesy sú flexibilnejšie ako predtým a dajú sa lepšie prispôsobiť súčasným požiadavkám. Digitálna správa procesov a dokumentácia tiež poskytujú cenné informácie na neustále zlepšovanie efektívnosti výroby vo Freiburgu. Údaje z procesov je možné použiť na overenie kvality procesov a výrobkov online, ako aj na výkon závodu pomocou ukazovateľov orientovaných na proces. Výsledkom je, že lieky môžu byť schválené a vydávané rýchlejšie. Posunutím tohto prístupu ešte ďalej je možné analyzovať a porovnávať technológie a procesy naprieč rôznymi lokalitami – čo je dôležitý aspekt pre globálne pôsobiacu spoločnosť. Okrem toho možno nové produkty a procesy vyvíjať spoločne a rýchlejšie ich uvádzať na trh.

Plynulá výroba pre pacientov

Tabletky a kapsuly z Freiburgu sa používajú na liečbu rakoviny, bolesti a srdcových ochorení u pacientov. „Vždy máme na pamäti, že výroba slúži pacientom, a nie je to len kvôli technológii alebo organizácii,“ poznamenáva Becker. Preto je jeho najvyššou prioritou kvalita, po ktorej nasleduje bezpečnosť dodávok. „Žiadny pacient by nemal čakať na niektorý z našich produktov.“ Apríl 2018

Gloved hand sorting red and white capsules on a tray.

Smooth production for patients

The tablets and capsules from Freiburg are used for treating cancer, pain, and heart ailments in patients. “We always have in the back of our minds that production is there to serve the patients, and is not just for the sake of the technology or any organization,” Becker notes. That is why quality is his top priority, followed by security of supply. “No patient should be left waiting for any of our products.” April 2018