DECEMBER 4--Symetix (Walla Walla, WA, USA;www.symetix.com), the pharmaceutical business unit of Key Technology, has received an order from one of the largest softgel manufacturers, valued at approximately $700,000; it is for a solid-dose pharmaceutical grading/sorting line for OTC and prescription drugs. The line removes defects and foreign capsules from the product stream to achieve 100% in-line, real-time inspection.
The integrated grading/sorting line replaces traditional labor-intensive batch manufacturing processes with new, continuous automated processes, which extend Symetix's concept of a continuous softgel finishing line to the OTC and prescription pharmaceutical industry.
"When we launched Optyx/SG in December 2005, nutraceutical manufacturers were the first to benefit from the paradigm shift that this continuous processing technology enables. Now, with OptyxSG/V2, we're introducing this same paradigm shift to manufacturers of OTC and regulated-solid-dose pharmaceuticals," noted Rich Hebel, managing director for Symetix.
The new grading/sorting line is anchored by OptyxSG/V2, a high-volume optical inspection system, which features ultrahigh-resolution, full-color cameras. The FDA 21 CFR part 11-compliant OptyxSG/V2 verifies product color, size, and shape and detects the smallest defects, including air bubbles, stained capsules, and misshapen product. The system can inspect up to 900,000 softgel capsules per hour.
