Issue Archive

From the Editor: Pharma and the Power of Web 2.0
Individuals within the pharmaceutical industry are empowered, as never before, to make changes for the better.

Therapeutic Dose: Life is Just a Bowl of Entropy
As the saying goes, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems resemble nails.” As a physical chemist, I think I can explain everything in terms of thermodynamics. I have yet to be proven wrong.

The Demand-Driven Supply Chain
Leading companies are using sales and operations planning to connect demand-side processes and information to production operations. In order to make this work, closer collaboration and better exchange of data is needed between manufacturers and distributors.

Improving Control of the Extrusion Spheronization Process
Extrusion spheronization can be an efficient route to pellet dosage forms, but close control of temperature and speed is critical.

Introducing PAT, Using NIR Analysis, to a Pharmaceutical Blending Process
Using NIR to measure absorbance at significant wavelengths for the granule and lubricant as the blend proceeded in real time, the authors found a relationship between blend uniformity and the standard deviation of the absorbance.

Peter Pande on Six Sigma Success: Don't Get Mired in the Details
Engineers and technical professionals often fail to ask the "right" questions.

Making the Grade
The number of accredited online education programs is increasing, offering career flexibility and continuing education opportunities for pharmaceutical professionals.

Benchmarking Pharma’s Use of MES
More drug companies are connecting ERP to the plant floor, according to a new report from the Aberdeen Group.

Novartis Aims to Become Pharma’s Toyota by 2010
A Novartis executive told attendees of a recent SAP user group conference how leveraged ERP and a “service-oriented architecture” approach to IT is enabling the company to improve its quality and manufacturing agility.

Improving Drug Development Through Enterprise-Enabled PLM
A Big Pharma company in the Midwest is making hay from a partnership between SAP and Conformia that connects enterprise resource planning to product lifecycle management.

Pathway to Continuous Improvement
Operational excellence requires a deep commitment and a culture of change. A recent survey shows where pharmaceutical manufacturers stand on the path.

Winning the Space Race
Complying with ICH Q8 requires knowledge of three key spaces: design, technology and regulatory. Here’s how one company used Design of Experiments to troubleshoot variability in the validation of a controlled-release pain reliever.