Let’s be honest. This is not a good year for trade show attendance. The state of the economy has most companies reconsidering their travel and event budgets, and all over the pharmaceutical world the question is being asked: Do we really need to attend this show?
As the annual Interphex show returns to expensive New York City—March 17-19 at the Jacob Javits Center—the question is relevant. But Interphex veterans know the show’s real worth. “Interphex is an invaluable forum to discuss critical industry issues and learn about forthcoming trends and directions,” says Ian Sellick, director of marketing, Pall Life Sciences. “The show provides us with our best opportunity to showcase the initiatives we have developed to address industry challenges. New York City has proven to be an excellent venue for Interphex, helping us meet more people who are globally responsible for scientific innovation and who are helping advance patient care.”
For those who say money is an issue, the argument can be made that attending Interphex makes sense because of the economy. More than ever, exhibitors will be peddling cost- and time-saving equipment and solutions, and educational tracks feature sessions devoted to improving processes and efficienciency in all manufacturing endeavors. There’s an entire track on Sustainable Practices, which includes presentations on: “A Risk-Based Approach to Energy Savings in Pharmaceutical Facilities”; “Costs and Benefits of Implementing a Sustainable Energy Program”; “Cut Costs, Reduce Risk, and Protect the Environment: What Leading Companies are Doing” (jointly presented by Energy Star, Schering-Plough, and Pfizer); and “Sustainable IT Processes in a Virtualized World.”
A few of the “economic” highlights from other tracks:
- “Building an Error Prevention Culture,” by Michael Curran-Hayes of Kepner-Tregoe
- “Advances in Bioreactor Modeling and Control,” by Greg McMillan of Emerson Process Management
- “Equipment Lifecycle Management: Cost Effective and Compliant Maintenance for Qualified Equipment,” by Jason Price of Management Resources Group
- “Building and Tailoring a Lean Six Sigma Approach for Validation Processes,” by Bikash Chatterjee of Pharmatech Associates
- “Case Study: Schering-Plough Global Clinical Supply Facility”
- Multiple sessions on the use of single-use equipment and materials in biopharma
Any of the above tracks and sessions—and the many others taking place at this year’s Interphex—could be seen as money-saving opportunities. Knowledge is always a bargain.
Who’ll Be There
Below are some of the companies headlining this year’s Interphex show, and what they’ll be featuring. For additional information visit our Interphex 2009 Portal.
A&B Process Systems Booth #1928
A&B is a proven leader in the design, fabrication, automation, testing and installation of high-quality stainless steel process skids/super skids, tanks, auxiliary equipment and piping systems. A&B has over 250,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity including its controlled environment facility that prevents the contamination of high purity tanks & systems.
ABB Booth #2310
ABB will showcase its Industrial IT eXtended PAT (process analytical technology) software. The latest generation of ABB’s PAT solutions, xPAT provides simplified engineering and streamlined integration with enterprise systems, as well as broad connectivity to a host of analyzers to help customers achieve continuous process improvement, real-time product release and Quality by Design. (QbD).
xPAT combines process data collection and analysis with traditional process control and data management functions to produce a complete PAT solution in a single system. The product is standalone, designed for use with any process automation solution, including System 800xA, as well as non-ABB DCS systems. Its integration capability provides expanded modeling functionality with modeling tools at the analyzer, unit operation and process levels, including support for batch modeling and integration of the Umetrics SBOL (SIMCA-Batch On-Line) batch monitoring tool.
AES Clean Technology Booth #2928
Specializes in the design/build of cGMP Cleanrooms and is the exclusive US manufacturer and distributor of the AES Pharma Wall and Walk-On Ceiling System. Products feature laminar flow modules, weigh/dispense booths, air showers, modular cleanrooms, turnkey HVAC systems, process services and third-party certification/validation services.
ATMI Life Sciences Booth #1373 and #1357
ATMI provides a range of proprietary disposable mixing, storage, powder transfer, packaging and bioreactor technology solutions that maximize product integrity while optimizing manufacturing cost. ATMI will introduce: NUCLEO, its next generation of disposable, scalable, bioreactors, developed for a wide range of cell culture applications. The Nucleo and ATMI’s entire Disposable Mixing System product line will be featured at booth #1357.
Also shown: Newmix-Levtech disposable mixing and storage systems; Newsafe disposable containment systems, and Newform ultraclean sterilizable flexible packaging.
ATS Automation Tooling Systems Booth #2841
ATS Automation Tooling Systems provides innovative, custom-designed, built and installed manufacturing solutions to many pharmaceutical companies. ATS also contract manufactures electro-mechanical components and machinery for global customers in the healthcare and other industries.
AdvantaPure/New Age Industries Booth #1555
AdvantaPure manufactures sanitary hose, tubing, fittings, and silicone injection molded components such as single-use fill and sampling assemblies, stoppers and true unions. Products exhibited include: AdvantaFlex, a single-use biopharmaceutical grade tubing ideal for media and viral filling and sampling applications; AdvantaLabel hose identification solutions; and GammaTag, a new gamma-sterilizable RFID solution that can be attached to healthcare equipment and medical devices, as well as single-use products requiring gamma sterilization before use with no risk of data loss.
Ahura Scientific Booth #258
TruScan is a rugged, handheld Raman system for rapid raw material verification. Non-destructive point-and-shoot operation enables verification through sealed packaging to minimize risk of exposure and contamination. TruScan’s embedded analysis software delivers a PASS/FAIL decision verifying the identity of a sample typically within 30 seconds.
Akrimax Pharmaceuticals Booth #954
Akrimax Manufacturing is a privately-held, contract development and manufacturing company in Rouses Point, New York. The approximate 950,000 square foot, state of the art facility was purchased from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and has a long-standing history of compliance with the FDA and a proven workforce.
Alfa Laval Booth #1801
Alfa Laval is a global manufacturer of specialized equipment and engineered process solutions, with a commitment to modular process solutions for unit operations and key components such as high-speed separators, decanters, compact heat exchangers, pumps, valves, fittings, tubing, tank cleaning equipment, membranes and parts and service.
Latest technologies include the new Culturefuge 400, a high-volume production scale disc stack separator designed for primary clarification of shear-sensitive cell culture processing; the Alfa Laval ART Plate Reactor, a technology that allows manufactures to go from batch processing to continuous production of pharmaceuticals and fine and specialty chemicals.
ASCO Numatics Booth #2958
ASCO and Numatics, business units of Emerson Industrial Automation, have merged in North America to form ASCO Numatics, a unified company that offers comprehensive flow control and pneumatics solutions for a wide range of applications. The company’s booth will showcase its complete line of fluid control and fluid power products for the life science industries.
Badger Meter, Inc.: Booth #2077
Badger Meter is a leading supplier of precision compact control valves. Badger Meters Research Control valves handle a variety of liquid, gas and steam applications in pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. Badger Meter offers sanitary valves from 1/2" to 3", cvs down to 0.05 and process valves from 1/4" to 2".
Banner Engineering Corporation Booth #1986
Banner manufactures photoelectric sensors, safety machine guarding systems, fiber optic assemblies, vision sensors and precision measurement systems, and serves pharma and a variety of other industries.
Beamex Booth #1036
Beamex is a technology and service company that develops, manufactures and markets high-quality calibration equipment, software, systems and services for the calibration and maintenance of process instruments. The company is a leading worldwide provider of calibration solutions that meet even the most demanding requirements.
Bio-Reaction Industries Booth #384
BRI is pioneering air pollution control systems that utilize microbes to digest industrial pollutants and odors. Bio-Reaction takes an innovative approach to the traditional technology that’s been utilized in Europe for decades and has transformed it into a modular, cost-effective bio-oxidation solution for VOC and odor control. This proven bio-filtration technology delivers the highest removal efficiency of any air phase bio technology in the world.
Bruker Optics Booth #2382
Bruker Optics offers the industry's most comprehensive range of solutions based on vibrational spectroscopy for the FDA Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) initiative. We are committed to the development and support of leading-edge technology for FT-IR, FT-NIR and Raman spectroscopy systems for both the laboratory and the process environment.
Budzar Industries Booth #1043
Budzar offers custom-built heat transfer systems specific to pharma, whether temperature control modules, low temperature chillers, biowaste systems, process skid packages, or a portable vessel heating/cooling system. Each custom unit or system design includes approval drawings, choice of instrumentation, technical assistance and is factory tested prior to shipping.
Among these, the Director Series Portable Vessel Heating/Cooling System is capable of handling temperatures from -60°C to 300°C. Basic features include: all stainless steel wetted surfaces; Speck magnetic drive seal-less design pump; VFD adjusts flow and automatically manages supply pressure; electric immersion heaters rated from 5 to 160 kW, low watt density design, flange mounted; and finger-safe electrical components.
Buffalo Air Handling #1248
Offers custom air handling systems to address pharmaceutical/biotechnology market requirements. Construction features triple-sloped IAQ drain pans, welded floors, galvanized, aluminum or stainless steel casings with foam or fiberglass insulation. A wide array of components are available, as is complete unit factory testing and start-up.
Cashco, Inc./Valve Concepts, Inc. Booth #2855
Cashco provides industrial control solutions for pharmaceutical applications by offering a full line of sanitary regulators and control valves. Products offer general ease of maintenance and tighter controls to maintain industry needs. Cashco is a certified ISO 9001 manufacturer of sanitary process equipment.
Celsis Booth #667
Celsis helps customers worldwide in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, chemical and consumer products industries get their products to market faster while ensuring product quality and safety for consumers. Offerings include rapid microbial detection systems, in vitro ADME-Tox products and accredited analytical and drug development services.
DPT Laboratories Booth #217
DPT is a contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in semi-solid and liquid dosage forms. DPT has provided pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare companies solutions for development and manufacturing for 65 years.
Dwyer Instruments Booth #2854
Dwyer produces a broad range of precision instrumentation for measuring, transmitting, and controlling flow, level, pressure, temperature, air velocity, and humidity. Dwyer also has a complete line of valves and valve automation accessories.
Emerson Process Management Booth #2455
Emerson is a leader in helping businesses automate their production, processing and distribution in the life sciences and other industries. The company combines products and technology with engineering, consulting, project management and maintenance services.
Endress+Hauser Booth #2861
Accurate measurement is needed to ensure process optimization, product
safety and regulatory compliance. Endress+Hauser provides instruments to ensure compliance to regulatory requirements and standards. See single-tube Coriolis meter for measuring mass flow and density as well as instruments for level, pressure, temperature and analytical measurements at Interphex.
EquipNet Booth #558
Purchasing pre-owned equipment is a critical strategy for keeping manufacturing costs down. With so many pharmaceutical plant closings, the inventory of high-quality, lab, processing, and packaging equipment is enormous. EquipNet helps global manufacturers such as GSK, AstraZeneca, BMS, Merck, and many others identify, price, track, sell, and purchase surplus laboratory and manufacturing equipment as well as spare MRO parts. Exclusive contracts with these manufacturers supply the largest MarketPlace in the world for buying and selling these assets.
Eriez Booth #659
Eriez manufactures a broad range of metal detection equipment. The E-Z Tec line is capable of finding ferrous, nonferrous and stainless steel metals by utilizing the highest level of sensitivities available for dry and liquid product processing. Eriez is an authority in advanced technology for magnetic, vibratory and metal detection applications.
Fette America Booth #1819
Fette will be exhibiting the 3090i Tablet Press; the 2090i Wash-in-Place Tablet Press; the 1200i Tablet Press; die table segments; the Checkmaster tablet measuring system; and the PKB Magnesium Stearate Spraying System.
GE Analytical Instruments Booth #2300
The Sievers 500 RL On-Line Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Analyzer is a reagentless analyzer designed for continuous monitoring of organics in ultrapure water for pharmaceutical, microelectronics, and power applications. The Sievers 500 RL provides the superior analytical accuracy and performance found in all Sievers TOC Analyzers, with a 0.03 ppb limit of detection and autozero capabilities for unsurpassed low-level performance. The 500 RL TOC Analyzer provides a range of options that can be customized to meet the specific needs of a wide variety of applications.
The Sievers 500 RL On-Line TOC Analyzer is designed to deliver science-based risk management capability to the production floor. This is largely achieved by integrating the trusted Sievers laboratory TOC analysis methodology into a reagentless on-line analyzer that delivers the same high level of analytical process capability associated with laboratory analyzers, but without the delay. The 500 RL thus supports pharmaceutical industry quality initiatives such as Process Automated Technology (PAT) and on-line Cleaning Validation (CV).
Gamajet Cleaning Systems Booth #2572
Tank cleaning machines and equipment clean and remove residues from the interior of tanks and vessels through the use of impingement cleaning. Gamajet tank cleaning machines are used to clean the interiors of virtually any size or type of tank, bin, or vessel, including drums, totes, and IBCs. All Gamajet tank cleaning machines are field serviceable, rugged, durable, and versatile.
Greiner Bio-One Booth #961
Greiner Bio-One presents its CytoCheck mycoplasma detection and identification kit at Interphex 2009. CytoCheck uses DNA microarrays to identify mycoplasmas in cell cultures, and includes universal and species-specific probes that can identify 40 different mycoplasma species. This species-level identification allows rapid determination of the source of the contamination, allowing corrective and preventative measures to be implemented quickly. CytoCheck is suitable for quality assurance in the production of biologics, including vaccines, antibodies, and therapeutic proteins. The use of CytoCheck is consistent with CBER’s 1993 “Points to Consider in the Characterization of Cell Lines Used to Produce Biologicals” recommendations regarding mycoplasma testing.
Honeywell Booth #2528
Honeywell helps pharmaceutical businesses deliver new products to market on time or faster, maintain regulatory compliance, and maximize the effectiveness of people, assets, and processes. Honeywell’s portfolio includes solutions for process automation, MES, batch and production management, wireless, validation and calibration, cyber and physical security, building automation, fire and life safety, and energy management.
Hosokawa Micron Powder Systems Booth #2604
Hosokawa products include powder processing technologies from Alpine, Micron, Mikro, Vrieco-Nauta, Stott and Vitalair, for size reduction, classifying, mixing, blending, drying, grinding, filling, bulk packaging, containment, compaction and analytical equipment and systems.
Hosokawa also offers system engineering, application technology, equipment manufacturing and assembly, commissioning, on-site training, and process optimization, as well as complete product development services from concept through commercialization. Other services: custom toll processing; laboratory analysis; product testing on a wide variety of unit operations; pilot product production and pilot testing of a diverse range of pharmaceutical products; and validation services.
Magnetrol Booth #2758
Magnetrol International, a leader in liquid level and flow instrumentation, offers Eclipse guided wave radar transmitters, Pulsar through-air radar transmitters, Echotel ultrasonic switches and transmitters and Thermatel thermal dispersion switches and transmitters.
The new Enhanced Eclipse Model 705 is a loop-powered, 24 VDC, level transmitter based upon Guided Wave Radar (GWR) technology and is the easiest transmitter to configure on the market. Eclipse is now available with a 304 stainless steel housing designed specifically for use in sanitary/hygienic applications. This instrument meets the needs and requirements for the wetted and non-wetted materials, process connections, and surface finishes for the sanitary industries.
MicroThermics, Inc.: Booth #1254
Reduce operating costs and produce the highest quality products with MTI BioPharm precision continuous thermal sterilizers, processors and reactors. We optimize our equipment for the development and production of your ingredients, pharmaceuticals, & fluid biotech products (or for the sterilization of production effluent). Our features include uniform heat exposure through a variety of heating methods (including patented continuous flow microwave heating), hold times, cooling, and more.
Pall Life Sciences Booth #2006
Pall Life Sciences is a leading provider of filtration, separation and purification technologies. New products featured at Interphex 2009 include a complete range of modular, disposable, self-contained high-performance depth filter capsules available from development scale through to systems that process tens of thousands of liters.
New high performance cartridge filters for Mycoplasma removal add to a range of featured contaminant removal products capable of removing bacteria, viruses, host cell protein, DNA and endotoxin. Both single-use systems featuring Allegro biocontainers and stainless steel-based systems may be applied for fluid management. At smaller scales, pre-packed chromatography columns, and additions to Pall’s extensive range of chromatography sorbents, will be demonstrated. Pharmaceutical quality control products feature rapid microbiology systems, including new developments in ready-to-use, simple, real time qPCR-based technologies.
Polychromix Booth #127
Polychromix is a leader in miniaturized and handheld NIR spectrometers and analyzers. Using a unique MEMS (Mirco-Electro-Mechanical-System) technology enables construction of a new breed of handheld spectroscopic devices which are smaller, lighter and cheaper than ever possible before. The PHAZIR and POD product lines are broadly used in a variety of quantitative and qualitative pharmaceutical applications including raw material inspection, at-line and online process control, moisture content analysis and more. They enable the expert as well as the non-technical user to perform accurate material analysis with minimal training, leading to process simplification and streamlining.
Siemens Water Technologies Booth #2437
Siemens Water Technologies will feature the PreVUE purified water generation system. When the S3 technology (Sanitize/Start/Stop) option is selected, the system can drastically reduce the consumption of raw water, production of wastewater, and consumption of electricity while maintaining premium water quality performance.
Swagelok Company Booth #2145
A producer of high quality fluid system components, Swagelok offers a broad line of products designed for easy cleaning and drainability. Biopharm components meet current sanitary standards and include BPE series fittings, DW series weir-style diaphragm valves and orbital welding systems, and complete engineered solutions and technology advancing products such as TS series fittings and DR series radial diaphragm valves.
Turck Booth #3138
Turck will be introducing its BL compact line, which brings all I/O to the plant floor in an environmentally hardened package that allows direct mounting onto a machine. The product line provides a vast signal variety, including analog, digital, RTD, thermocouple, serial or a mixture.
UFP Technologies Booth #2587
UFP is presenting its T-Tubes clean environment insulation: the only insulation in the world that is tested and approved by Factory Mutual to its Cleanroom Standards. T-Tubes are only ¼-inch thick, require no jacketing, are suitable for high- and low-temperature applications, have excellent toxicity properties, chemical durability and fire/smoke resistance.
In addition to T-Tubes, UFP Technologies will be displaying its newest product, BioShell. Designed to protect single-use bags during storage and shipment, BioShell is a dual-density foam container that can withstand multiple drops at -70°C. Highly pure material is USP Class VI grade and is flexible until -85°C. Each BioShell is custom created to user's bag and process specifications.
Vac-U-Max Booth #1978
Vac-U-Max specializes in design and manufacture of pneumatic systems and support equipment for conveying, weighing and batching of dry materials. The primary technology for conveying is vacuum, but positive pressure pneumatic systems as well as mechanical conveyors are used as applications dictate. An equally important activity is design and manufacture of heavy duty industrial vacuum cleaners, ranging from small air and electric powered drum styled units to large electric and diesel powered units.
Yokogawa Booth #2847
Yokogawa provides advanced recording, control systems and field instruments that solve a wide range of batch and continuous process application requirements within the pharmaceutical industry. The Yokogawa DXAdvanced R3 is the newest and most capable version of the DAQSTATION data acquisition and display stations. DXAdvanced R3 includes a host of new functions, including custom graphics. A new alarm annunciator display mode using ISA sequencing is included. Historical data review is much easier thanks to a new calendar display and search tool, and enhanced trend history functions.
Open network connectivity has been a hallmark feature of all DXAdvanced models. In addition to MODBUS RTU and TCP, new EtherNet/IP and PROFIBUS DP protocols aid installation on control networks. DXAdvanced R3 can interface with PLCs and other control products as a data source or to add graphical data display and recording functions. All DXAdvanced R3 models include 80MB or optional 200MB of non-volatile, internal flash memory, and use standard Compact Flash removable media for secure, long-term data storage. An optional USB interface supports data retrieval with USB memory devices and configuration with a USB keyboard.
