Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment
Some of the applications that the pharmaceutical industry utilizes packaging machinery for includes cream and lotion manufacturing, tablet and capsule filling and encapsulation. In addition to the pharmaceutical industry, this type of packaging equipment is also utilized by the nutraceutical industry, which refers to food, such as garlic, or food supplements, such as fish oil, that are believed to have curative properties. The key difference between nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals is that nutraceuticals are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and as a result do not have to adhere to their standards and regulations, whereas pharmaceuticals do. In addition, pharmaceutical companies require high precision in packaging since their products are regulated for medical reasons: for example, the pill count of a bottle is regulated and consumers need to get the correct amount of pills to get healthy again.
The most common type of packaging equipment used for pharmaceutical applications is a filling machine. Filling machines are used to take pre-made packaging and fill it with a certain number of parts, in this case medicine, which can range anywhere from just a few pills to a hundred or so pills. In addition to packaging machines to simply fill the pre-made packaging with tablets, capsules, cream, liquids, etc., there is a type of pharmaceutical packaging equipment referred to as a form-fill-seal machine that is much more multi-talented than a simple filling machine. As the name suggests, a form-fill-seal machine has the capacity to form the packaging, fill the packaging with the appropriate product and then seal the packaging, most commonly through the application of heat. Used to fill bottles with medicine such as antihistamines, anti-diabetic drugs, gastrointestinal drugs, antibiotics and more, the most commonly thought of packaging in the pharmaceutical industry is that of a brown, slightly-transparent pill vial. However, in actuality there is a wide range of packaging used for medicines including bags, pouches, cartons and more. Typical supplies utilized in the packaging of pharmaceutical products include tape, film, dispensers, closures, and packaging caps.
