IMA Active at the international online conference “Industry 4.0: multi-unit pellet system (MUPS), formulations, technologies and equipment”

IMA Active is pleased to take part in the international online conference “Industry 4.0: multi-unit pellet system systems (MUPS), formulations, technologies and equipment”, which will be held online on May 12, 2021.

Promoted by the Pharmaceutical Industry review, this conference will bring together pharmaceutical industry manufacturers, technologists and experts from the nutraceutical and the cosmetic industries to discuss latest development and technologies for multi-unit pellet system (MUPS) manufacturing.

Formulation experts and machine manufacturers will present the advantages of MUPS and the latest innovations to produce these formulations, sharing their experiences and case studies.

Claudio Lorenzini, Product Manager for tablet presses at IMA Active, will present the case study “Feed frame optimization of a MUPS blend in a rotary tablet press”.

Multi-unit pellet system (MUPS) is one of the most popular multi-unit dosage forms that are generally filled into a capsule or compressed with other excipients to form a tablet; MUPS tablet (TMUPS) in particular are composed of pellet, uncoated or coated, with a powder phase and excipient necessary to obtain a final and compact tablet.

The drug may be included in the core of pellet itself (polymeric matrix) or layered on it with suitable excipients for modified release purposes (delayed or sustained). The powder phase contains generally fillers, binders, disintegrant and lubricant.

Innovation on one hand but manufacturing challenging on other: potential polymer-damaging and blend segregation are the most well-known issues.

Concerning segregation tendency, it is necessary to specify that, generally, pellet of MUPS formulation have a particle size distribution included in the range 300-2000 μm and they are present in a percentage of 20-70%, whereas other excipient have a distributional array smaller than 200 μm. As result, high differences in particles dimension occur in potential physical separation during the handling of the blend prior and during tableting. If segregation occur, tablet could be produced without the quality required in terms of API homogeneity causing the rejection during quality control. Working on feeding system is mandatory for manufacturer supplier to ensure the respect of blend homogeneity and avoid out-of-specification conditions.

Aim of this case study is the feed frame optimization for a MUPS formulation in order to verify process feasibility on a rotary tablet press model PREXIMA 300 (IMA, Italy).

Discover more during the presentation that will take place at 11:00 am CET.