Gintaras V. (Rex) Reklaitis, professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University and a member of the Young Institute, works on pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment in the university’s Flex Lab. [Image courtesy of Purdue University/Charles Jischke]
Operating within Purdue’s William D. and Sherry L. Young Institute for Advanced Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals, consortium partners will focus on advancing pharmaceutical manufacturing, according to a Jan. 17 news release. They’ll focus on sterile injectables and aseptic manufacturing technology to boost quality, safety and compliance.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing is an essential component of the One Health initiative at Purdue.
“We’re on the frontier of Pharma 4.0 — autonomous experimentation, advanced robotics, big data, smart factories, AI and machine learning,” Karen Plaut, Purdue’s EVP for research, said in a news release. “Through this partnership, we will have a global impact in solving complex problems in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem.”
The consortium comes at a time of more autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and digital technology. Consortium members need industrially relevant education and training for the next generation of scientific leaders and researchers. In addition, there’s a new commitment to onshoring pharmaceutical manufacturing while bolstering domestic U.S. production, according to consortium members.
“Addressing pharma manufacturing challenges requires a significant advancement in technology. With an alliance of this caliber, the consortium will explore greater emphasis on both current and future advanced chemistries and accelerate research of innovative discoveries,” said Elizabeth Topp, director of the Purdue Young Institute and the new director of the consortium.
Consortium members anticipate they will attract broad participation throughout the sector from other pharmaceutical companies, pharma contract manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, startups, and venture capital firms.
The consortium at Purdue will look to create systems equipped with automated visual inspection and in-line process and product quality monitoring, all of which will require a new generation of skilled pharmaceutical manufacturing engineers and scientists. The goal is research excellence and comprehensive training opportunities.
“Being a founding member of the Young Institute means building on the remarkable legacy of next-generation manufacturing,” said Arup Roy, SVP of technical services and manufacturing science at Lilly. “Together, we will transform the industry with advanced aseptic manufacturing technologies, innovative research, and top-notch education and training to bring pharmaceutical sciences into the future with sterile processing standards. Our work honors Bill Young’s visionary spirit to shape the future of manufacturing and make it a core industry competency for a lasting impact on global communities.”
Said Merck SVP of Manufacturing Dave Maraldo: “If our collaborative research efforts can use smart technology to accelerate the timeline from research to market, we can reduce costs and bring critical and effective therapies to patients with greater speed. Harnessing innovation will help create a safe and sustainable future for the industry, and most importantly, allow us to better serve patients.”
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