Medical science has traversed a long distance with new age technology and scientific innovations. From highly sophisticated medical equipment to potent medicinal formulations, the medical science field has significantly revolutionized due to technological and scientific advancements. Nowadays, we have a cure for almost every disease and disorder, which of course is a great achievement for humanity. Medical science has immensely contributed in saving many lives. It is expected that in future the researchers will surely be able to decode every complexity of human body and diseases in order to develop life-saving medicinal formulations and technology.

Pharmaceutical industry has immensely contributed in making many medical procedures and treatments successful. The invention of highly potent medicinal formulations has immensely helped medical care professionals in providing the most effective treatments to their patients. The pharmaceutical industry not only initiated mass production of medicinal formulations but also helped in making these formulations easily available. Medicines are reasonably priced in almost every country and you can easily visit any medical store to buy various types of medications. In spite of the fact that medicines are reasonably priced and the retail price is often decided by the government, the pharmaceutical industry is booming. Pharmaceutical business owners are earning massive profits. The main reason behind many flourishing pharmaceutical businesses across the globe is the ever-increasing demand of medicinal formulations. So, if you are planning to start a new business then the pharmaceutical industry will surely be a safe bet. With the right business strategies and effective medicinal formulations, you can surely earn big profits in this domain.

However, to establish a successful business in this domain, you should get in touch with a pharmaceutical consulting firm. These companies basically provide assistance in establishing a pharmaceutical business. It is suggested to get in touch with the top pharmaceutical consulting firm for your business. A competent pharmaceutical consultant can immensely help you in not only understanding the pharmaceutical industry but also in setting a business. You may or may not know about the pros and cons of a pharmaceutical business and getting an expert help will surely be a great decision. Pharmaceutical consultants have a knack on the requirements of this industry and they can surely be of great help. From designing the product to devising an effective marketing strategy, they can immensely contribute in establishing your business. With professional guidance of a pharmaceutical consulting firm, you will surely be able to establish a money-spinning business.

There is no doubt that the global pharmaceutical industry is in the midst of a big transition. Significant scientific and technological advances are deemed to reinforce the growth of the industry and generate huge opportunities. As biology and technology becoming increasingly entwined, new opportunities take birth with an aim to improve healthcare. Here are some of the top opportunities that pharmaceutical companies can leverage to make the most of this new-age revolution.

1. Precision Medicine – Getting a Better Understanding of a Disease

Precision medicine is essentially an approach that makes use of clinical as well as molecular information for the purpose of understanding the biological basis of a disease better. Through a process known as genome sequencing, this information is provided by converting DNA into data. Researchers then make use of this information to identify very specific biomarkers and abnormalities within the gene to identify the most effective drug for specific types of patients. This approach also helps understand who is likely to experience severe side-effects among other things. Pharma companies can rely on this technology to develop targeted therapies and to repurpose already existing drugs.

2. mHealth Sensors for Enhanced Clinical Research

A growing number of pharma research companies are optimizing the use of mHealth technology for the purpose of conducting more comprehensive clinical research. Smartphones that offer powerful processors and advanced sensors are able to track movement, record information and take measurements to pursue post-market studies and enable patient participation in an easier manner. The more people are able to contribute to the data, the truer the representation and more powerful the results. In addition to smartphone devices, this technology also extends itself to wearable devices that come with accelerometers, GPS, and sensors that are able to take biometric readings.

3. 3D Printing of Drugs

Just recently, a popular epilepsy drug was in the news for being the first to be 3D printed and approved by the FDA. In this process, the printer is able to build the pill by spreading layers of the drug one on top of the other until it reaches the exact dosage required. This way, pharma companies are able to create pills that deliver higher doses of medicine, as much as 1000 mg, while also being porous enough so that is quickly dissolves. This is especially beneficial for patients who have trouble swallowing their medicines.

4. Nanotechnology – To Track Patient Compliance

The microscopic size of nanoparticles, they can easily travel around the human body via the blood stream. Usually composed of biological nano-machines, these particles have already shown significant success in delivering anti-cancer drugs and to minimize toxicity in the human body. Further advancements open doors for pharma companies or practitioners by allowing them to track the patient’s compliance to taking drugs. Nanobots consumed in the form of a pill is also believed to help destroy cancer cells or perform internal surgical tasks in the near future.

5. Artificial Intelligence to Detail Clinical Trial Outcomes

Taking into account the learning capabilities of computers, technologies such as IBM Watson offer significant opportunities to pharma companies who can rely on it to understand scientific papers, detail clinical trial outcomes and develop and evaluate medications and their efficacy. Companies can also rely on this technology to discover alternate indications of existing drugs, i.e., repurposing.

The pharmaceutical industry across the globe is developing at a fast pace and generating profits like never before. The companies operating in this sector sell drugs that are generic and also those that are branded. The industry manufacturers quality medicines that can be used by consumers to cure various illnesses. Hi-tech machinery is used by firms in this domain to develop drugs, store them and market them to the end users. There are many machine manufacturers that design and sell machinery that can be used by Pharma companies. Some of the machines that are produced by these firms include filling machines – liquid filling machine, powder filling machine, bottle filling machine etc, sealing machines, screw capping machines, sticker labeling machines, among many others. Many pharmaceutical firms have partnership with filling machine manufacturers who provide them superior quality machines to inject liquid and powder in tablets and bottles etc.

Filling machines are majorly used for filling ointment, paste, cream, gel and other such products into the tubes or bottles. Most of the filling and sealing machines work automatically. They have a vertical dosing system and are fully enclosed. They also comprise of a saddle fold, multi color filling, indexer, gas flushing. They have a compact design and are easy to operate. They are controlled electronically but some manual work is also required sometimes. Tube is sealed, cleaned and ejected automatically through these machines. A hot air system is used for closing the tube and also for ejecting it.

The machine manufacturers make sure that the machines they produce are of premium quality and deliver powerful performance and excellence. They also provide after sales customer service to their patrons so that if they face any issues related to the functioning of the machine, they can easily get it solved. These machines come in budget-friendly prices so you don’t have to spend a bomb to purchase them. When buying a filling machine, make sure that the manufacture has good reputation in the market and all their customers are satisfied with the products they sell. Also, do a complete check of the quality of the machine you wish to buy. Filling machines are also used in the cosmetic industry to inject creams and gels into the tubes. Chemical, Ayurvedic, Pesticide industries and many other such industries also make use of these machines to fill the required amount of lotions and creams into boxes, tubes, tablets, etc.

If you are a part of the pharmaceutical industry, you would know exactly how competitive the market has become in the recent years. New players have made their way into the industry, which has increased the competition manifolds. In order to be successful in this industry, you need to look for innovative ways to not only provide your customers a better product, but also cut down on costs. You would know that there are several machines that you have to buy to run a pharmaceutical company producing tablets, capsules – from manufacturing tablets and filling capsules to coating and printing tablets and capsules – you need different machines for different functions. We will focus on pharmaceutical tablet printing machines in this article.

To buy the best tablet and capsule printing machine, you need to get in touch with a company that has been manufacturing these machines for a good number of years. What you need to look for is how many pharmaceutical companies like you have bought from them. This will give you a good idea about the quality of machines they manufacture and the results that these machines are able to offer. The company needs to have people who understand the requirements of pharmaceutical industry and the standards that are needed to be maintained in order for pharmaceutical products to be deemed safe and reliable for consumption. When you are buying pharmaceutical tablet/capsule printing machines, you can’t compromise on quality. Because a little mistake or error could lead to devastating results for not only your business, but for the lives of thousands of people who are buying pharmaceutical products from you.

Check whether the company has several models of tablet printing machines to choose from – machines for one-sided/two-sided printing. Another important thing is to ensure that all the machines that the company is manufacturing are manufactured keeping in line all the standard requirements as laid down by the authority governing such matters. All the materials used in manufacturing the machines should also be FDA approved. Depending on your needs, you can buy machines that print about 60-70 thousand tablets in an hour or if you require a more speedy machine, you could go for ones that can print up to 300000 tablets in one hour.

Efficient management of batch recipes is the most important and complex aspect of ERP system for the pharmaceutical industry. Every aspect of a pharmaceutical recipe must be documented. Here are some of the details required to be documented.

ingredients and information of their technical compositions, how much the ingredient cost and how much it cost to prepare the ingredient for use, and historical data about the ingredients, how they were received and from where, how they were stored, how they were processed/manufactured, how they were prepared for packaging, how they were packaged, where stored before shipping and all shipping data. Again, when any one aspect is altered, it changes the rest of the processes.

Pharmaceutical companies need to have an effective management application method to keep all this data in a proper manner and use them efficiently whenever required. Selection of a right ERP system is very important, especially one that is familiar with the pharmaceutical industry is crucial to gaining the most when it comes to financial savings and increased efficiencies.

Pharmaceutical companies that have implemented eresource ERP are gaining competitive advantages in their operational method.

About eresourceinfotech

Growing as a leading enterprise solution company, eresource, or ‘Enterprise Resource’, provides end-to-end solutions that leverage technology-enabling customers to grow their business. Eresource serves many client in India and abroad and as one of the pioneers of Web-based ERP solution.

Being the 9th world market leader for pharmaceutical industry, India increased in market value share to about $3 billion in 1998. The increasing demands seen by chemical suppliers in India were because of the immense developments and appreciation of people in alternative healing. The prices dictated by the market allowed pharmaceutical companies in India to accept low market prices. Studies showed that prices set by manufacturers failed to cover profitable business costs. Pharmaceutical companies can easily start a business because of the low capital requirement. Patent concerns were also enforced as the industry was only recently regulated by the government. Despite the freedom given to pharmaceutical manufacturers, the industry faced a lot of controversies existing until today which led for India’s government to enforce regulation in the industry. These policies were used to ensure public safety and welfare.

Extensive growth in the pharmaceutical sector in India was seen in two components namely: domestic and foreign. As consumers gained more attention and awareness on health issues, consumers seek for more improvements in the sector. A paradigm shift in terms of prioritizing health and wellness were evident for India to push for improvements in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The set expectations alongside with value for money in purchasing drugs were now set in a different light. Business leaders pushed for developments and research for new, efficient, cost effective drugs that will meet greater consumer expectations.

There were four current trends identified in pharmaceutical manufacturing sector of India. These trends ignited inspiration and hope for India’s economic growth and development in the succeeding years.

Bulk Drug Policy

Bulk Drugs or Active Pharmaceutical Drugs (API) were known as active raw materials used in a drug. India currently has got more API than China. Emerging competition was seen between the two countries. This interesting trend in the industry led for chemists and chemical suppliers in India to conclude increase development rates in the industry. If this trend will be maintained, tax free status of manufacturers will be an advantage for them as business profitability will also increase.

New Ministry for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices

Clinical trials, import and export system of drugs and pricing controls will be handled by a new ministry in India. This was seen as a competitive edge among chemical suppliers in India. If a new ministry will be able to handle issues concerning pharmaceutical raw material suppliers and chemical suppliers in the country, demands and recommendations on the current system will be addressed.

Online Pharmacies and Digital Pharmacies

Due to technological advancements, India was also seen as a leader of online pharmacies or digital pharmacies for consumers. This implementation will help consumers have an easy access to products manufactured by companies. India’s project on pushing for online pharmacies will open doors for global competitiveness.

Pharmaceutical Raw Material Suppliers

Following the requirements of pharmaceutical and chemical industries, suppliers and manufacturers were set to aim for highest international standards of products. Not only to provide high quality chemical products but also to maintain customer satisfaction.
Jenny Shah works at TatvaChintan Pharmachem Pvt. Ltd, a leading chemical and pharmaceutical company based in Gujarat. “Chemistry” is her favorite topic for articles. She likes to pen down and share everything about the latest trends followed in Chemical and Pharmaceutical industry.

Blister packaging is a form of plastic packaging and is used in the pharmaceutical as well as the consumer goods industry. The blister packaging machine is increasingly used in these areas and there are many types of blister packaging that are available in the market.

Pharmaceutical Industry

In the pharmaceutical industry, the blister packaging machine is used as unit-dose packaging. Tablets, lozenges, and capsules are packed using the unit-dose packaging system. These blister packs not only provide a barrier but also help in protecting the shelf life of these products. This type of packaging offers a certain amount of tamper resistance. In the US, all physician samples and over-the-counter drugs use blister packaging. The blister pack is also better known as the Push-Through-Pack in some certain countries across the world. Blister packaging ensures some degree of authenticity and integrity of the product.

How They Work?

The blister packs use the form-fill-seal process, where there are rolls of flat films or sheets that have pharmaceutical products filled in them. The packs are then sealed using the same machine which is termed as blisterline. This is later dispatched from the pharmaceutical companies to the distributors. This is one way of ensuring the safety and authenticity of the product.

Consumer Goods

The blister packaging machine is also used extensively in the consumer goods industry. This type of packaging is used in many consumer goods like toys, pens, electrical and electronic goods, hardware, and many other products. This type of packaging is very useful as the consumer can clearly see what is inside and look at the product without having to open it or tamper with it. It is sealed at the manufacturing unit and hence remains tamperproof. A vacuum formed plastic shell is placed around the mold and hence the product can snugly fit into the packaging. This consists of the paperboard card on one side and the pre-formed plastic on the other side.

The other form of packaging is known as the clamshell, which is a more secure packaging system. This is especially useful in the packaging of electronic items. This consists of 2 pre-formed plastic sheets that are fused together at the edges. This is designed in such a way to discourage tampering and this is an excellent way to package an item and prevent duplication. You will need a sharp object such as a knife to open this packaging.

Medical Blister Trays

These differ from the pharmaceutical blister packs as they are not the push-through packs. Here, a thicker plastic is used and this forms a solid tray. There is a peel open feature and these are generally used to package medical devices that are used in the hospitals.

The blister packaging machine has many uses in all these areas of manufacturing and it ensures that the products are tamper-proof to some extent. There are various methods that are used during the manufacturing such as cold forming and thermoforming. Even the materials used in blister packaging can vary.

Pharmacy professionals play an important role in the care of patients and in other areas of the healthcare industry. Pharmacists in the community and hospital setting ensure that patients receive the right medications. They also advise patients regarding medicines, including how to take them, what reactions could happen, and about drug interactions. They are a major resource for medical information in hospitals, clinics, community pharmacies, and many other settings.

One major advantage of having a doctor of pharmacy degree (PharmD) is the variety of opportunities that are available. When most people think of the pharmacy profession they think about the community, hospital, or clinic pharmacist. Although community and hospital pharmacies are the top employers, pharmacy jobs or jobs that require a pharmacist’s knowledge are available in other areas of healthcare or related industries. The pharmaceutical industry is such an example. Pharmaceutical companies have many jobs that are a close match with PharmD training. Some entry level jobs are available immediately after graduation but many jobs require a fellowship/residency, experience, or additional credentials. Other non-traditional pharmacy jobs include pharmacy consultant, nuclear pharmacy, regulatory jobs at the FDA, and academia. Recently, a new type of pharmacy job called medication therapy management (MTM) pharmacist or personal pharmacist has emerged and is growing. MTM pharmacists provide face-to-face comprehensive medication consultation and bill for their services independent of drug dispensing. Many experts believe that this is the future of the pharmacy profession.

Coupled with the diversity of opportunities, pharmacists also enjoy very high starting salaries compared with most health professions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2012 Handbook the median salary for pharmacists was $111,570 in 2010. Top earners earned more than $138,620 annually. Pharmacists are one of the highest paid professionals in the healthcare industry.

The job outlook is very favorable for pharmacists. Between 2010 and 2020 the Bureau of Labor projects a 25% growth in the number of pharmacy jobs. This is faster than projected growth for all occupations and is closer to the projected growth in nursing jobs (26%). Factors that may contribute to this future growth include new drug approvals, more insured individuals, aging population, older pharmacists retiring, and a shift in demand for more pharmacists to provide patient counseling services (medication therapy management).

Given the above-mentioned variety of pharmacy jobs, pay, and growth trends, a pharmacist career is very promising. Those who are embarking on a career in the healthcare field should seriously consider pharmacy as an option.

Every economy is suffering from the problems of voltage and power issues. This is also a major concern of industries which are fighting with the financial loss due to problems like breakdown and faults in the machines due to power loss, noise from harmonics, voltage fluctuations, spikes, surges, overloads, under loads and many more to count. Protecting your pricey appliances is possible now; the perfect and reliable solution for all the problems related to the power and voltage issues comes from the servo voltage stabilizer manufacturers who have designed such array of the products. They fight back with the power issues and protect your expensive machines and appliances from the ill effects of the power cuts.

Such types of devices are efficient for the appliances and save them from the severe breakdowns, faults and even helps to ignore some catastrophic hazards. The installation of the device is much easier and doesn’t require any professional to fix it. There is a wide range of industrial stabilizers which offers various types of stabilizers to choose from.

These devices ensure a constant supply of power to the machines and appliances in the case of power cuts. Further, the stabilizers also ensure the regular supply of power in the case of power fluctuations. Some medical equipment in the pharmaceutical industry like MRI and oncology machines can break down even with the minor fluctuations of power which are only about 3 to 15%. The adverse consequences are not just limited to equipment’s breakdown or failure, but also affect the working efficiency, reduces life span, emerge the need for more maintenance and repairs as well as more disturbances. All these obstacles double your production cost and bring down the quality of the outputs.

Large scale industries have heavy-duty machines and expensive appliances which need a constant power supply for proper functionality and maximum potency. This is only possible with the high servo voltage stabilizers which can ensure consistent voltage supply to these machines. These preserve your hefty devices from the unexpected power cuts and enable them to operate smoothly. Among the various types of the stabilizers, some of the stabilizers are connected to the appliances, while some are linked directly to the power control system for high flow of current.

The industrial voltage stabilizers are designed to save the space in an efficient manner and fit in any space. It also works efficiently in all the conditions. Besides machines, the device also assures the safety of the operator working on the machines.

The pharmaceutical industry is a very important one in the industrial world because of its major role in sustaining a healthy nation. Within the industry, there are various firms or companies engaging in one form of trade or the other. While some specialize on research and development in respect to drugs or medicine for curing one existing or new infection or disease, some are into manufacturing drugs and others are into prescribing drugs, marketing drugs and the likes. This scene, as if it were stage drama, is been watched, assessed and controlled by reputation organizations, associations, bodies, commissions and special committee to ensure that things do not go beyond normal.

As soon as I got on the job, I rolled out what I want to achieve which every store manager is expected to do if he must achieve success on the job. Take a look at mine.

The store/warehouse is committed to:

i. serving you better via prompt delivery or dispatch of stocks,
ii. enhancing effective communication,
iii. handling your complaints with courtesy, absolute care and prompt response,
iv. proper and accurate documentation(s) for effectiveness and efficiency, and
v. due process for in-coming, out-going and out-sourcing of stocks.

This is mine and you need something similar to this, not exactly. It all depends on your organization and what you want to do or achieve. Inventory management and control thus is a very vital knowledge at a store or warehouse manager must have in order to perform well on the job.

Practically, inventory management is all about ensuring that everything about your stock is well planned and organized such that there is easy flow of stock within and outside the firm. This means that you must have enough stocks to satisfy all orders and ensure that customers continue to have stocks at all time. It is a complex things and quite challenging. However, some programs have helped in reducing the stress of using varieties of formulas in getting reorder level, maximum and minimum stock level, warning level, annual demand, etc. This is about INVENTORY OR STOCK CONTROL.

In managing you stocks in a pharmaceutical company, you must learn first how to keep proper records. You must be very versatile in this and like figures especially when you handle over 100 different types of drugs and some have different strengths e.g. 10mg, 25mg, 50mg, 100mg, 500mg, 1g, 4000iu, 10000iu, 20000iu, etc. Some of the documents you must have and make use of are:

DELIVERY NOTE (DN): This records all drugs and materials leaving the store to the customers, REPs, office workers and donations to institutions. It must have Date, Particular (for drug name, expiry date, batch number and strength), packaging details (e.g. bottles, vial, PC, etc), Name and Address of the consignee, serial number, signature space for the store manager and the receiver. It could be duplicated in pink or be in triplicate.

GOODS RETURN FORM (GRF): It records all goods return and in good condition.

GOOD RECEIVE NOTE (GRN): It records all imported stocks as they enter the store i.e. stocks imported from manufacturer and being received into the store or stocks received from the production department into the store and ready to be issued out.

PRODUCT REQUSITION NOTE (PRN): It records all requests for order placement forwarded to the purchasing manager or procurement department when stocks reach reorder level. It should specify which stock needs to be replenished and the quantity to be ordered (though the procurement manager may know the right quantity to procure within the financial constraint of the organization).

WAYBILL: This is a store document that accompanies stocks being moved out of the organization which must be presented when stopped on the way either by the organization’s security men or force on the way to the customer’s warehouse or store.

BIN CARD: This is a document showing daily incoming and outgoing of stocks in and out of the store or warehouse. It must show the consignee’s name and address, batch number, expiry date, quantity, signature and the balance (on continuous basis). FIFO should be strictly applied so as to avoid loss due to expiration of drugs.

INVENTORY SOFTWARE: Inventory management and control software could be installed on the office system for daily posting and accurate report as generated by the tested and tried program. Good ones include inflow inventory program, Chronos eStock Card, Inventoria Manager Stock etc.

In managing stock or inventory in a pharmaceutical company, the following must be put into consideration:

1. The stocks expiry date must be checked and documented. It must be written on the bin card.
MANAGEMENT ACTION: Ensure that there is proper surveillance on the expiry date of each drug to avoid loss due to expiration.

2. The Batch number must be noted and document as their may be many batches of the same class of drug
MANAGEMENT ACTION: FEFO (First Expiry, First Out) should be used here. The first expiring batch should go out first.

3. The temperature must be well noted and likewise the storage conditions. Some of such instructions are: store between 2oC and 5oC, store between 15oC and 25oC, protect from sunlight, keep in deep freezer, etc. Adhere to these instructions.
MANAGEMENT ACTION: The temperature should be properly monitored to avoid damaged due to over/under temperature.

Others include:

4. Stocks should not be jam-packed in the stock. There should be enough space and the store should be well organized to allow for easily location and free movement.

5. Computer data should exist for all stocks in the store which will be updated daily or almost immediately as the stocks are going out or coming in to enable the manager to know quantity left for each stock at a glance on the system in case of urgent demand.

6. Cleanliness is part of proper management of the warehouse.

7. Proper documentation and record updating is also necessary here from source document to Bin Card.

The stock control strategy is also necessary for effective and efficient management of the warehouse. Lots of software now exists to remove difficulties in this area. In controlling the warehouse stocks, the control measure/software/program should be able to determine the following upon which right decision should/could be taken:

1. MAXIMUM STOCK LEVEL
2. MINIMUM STOCK LEVEL
3. RE0RDER LEVEL OF STOCK
4. REORDER QUANTITY
5. WARNING LEVEL FOR STOCKS
6. NORMAL CONSUMPTION
7. NORMAL REORDER PERIOD
8. ANNUAL DEMAND OR QUANTITY

The manual method of stock control is fast fading out though some organizations still make use of it. However, daily check is needed to ensure efficiency. Computers these days have helped to save such time because alert props up when stocks need to be reorder, below minimum level, when over stock, etc.

In all, stock management and control is an important aspect of warehouse manager’s responsibility which must handled effectively and efficient if he/she must stay on the job since all what is demanded from him or her is this function. Therefore, the warehouse manager must endeavour to keep abreast of development via training and development in the form of further schooling, workshops, seminars, internet research, etc.