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In Association with SHL Medical
Combination products have shifted away from resource-intensive bespoke designs to embrace more efficient modular, platform-based manufacturing. SHL Medical’s DAI® technology was one of the first autoinjectors to explore a platform design model, which features a recognisable industrial design for various diseases. Modularisation has since improved scalability further as shown by SHL Medical’s Molly® autoinjector, which has supported the approval of at least 17 distinct combination product projects across diverse disease areas.
As pharmaceutical corporations try to combat an ever-increasing diversity of diseases with new drugs and biosimilars in auto-injectors, potency is an even more competitive merit for medical device manufacturers.
Christian Walter, global head of operations engineering at SHL Medical, says the company has been expanding and accelerating its production operations for several years by leveraging Industry 4. 0 technologies such as end-to-end digitization of procedures. internal automation, and a wide variety of technologies. Knowledge research for scalable production.
To facilitate this expansion, one step SHL Medical is taking is to apply complex simulation strategies and equipment to create virtual models of its processes, production lines, machines, and supply chains.
“Simulation is a difficult generation that transforms the way we compare and optimize complex processes,” he says. “This allows us to dig deeper into individual processes and perceive how they interact. Running simulation events in a virtual environment provides brands with the data they need to make informed decisions about their operations.
Walter adds that simulation technologies are ideally suited for autoinjector production, citing the complex processes, well-defined supply chains, and numerous system constraints involved.
SHL Medical, as a provider of end-to-end answers, has a committed team of plant simulation engineers, who use complex modeling techniques to simulate the production processes of an autoinjector. The team uses undeniable static models and highly incorporated dynamic simulation. modeling, depending on the needs of the simulation task.
According to Walter, static modeling is an undeniable but effective way to create multiple scenarios and rule out insufficient solutions. “For example, we can easily assess production quantities, yields, and area constraints,” he says. “With the right knowledge and information formulas, a plant simulation engineer can temporarily identify various production parameters, medium and worst-case scenarios, and discover the ideal configuration. “
Simulation modeling is a more visual and complex strategy in which engineers use specialized software to create complicated simulations of discrete events. These animated representations of complex systems enable dynamic interactions between various processes and subsystems.
SHL Medical has implemented simulation modeling extensively, creating modularized three-dimensional models of its entire production infrastructure. This enables the simulation of discrete and continuous production processes in your global facilities, production processes, flows, and automated machines.
The highly demand-driven procedure of managing production capacities across multiple auto-injector platforms demands continuous optimization of curtain flow, resource utilization, and other dimensions.
For pharma companies in a constant race to reduce time-to-market, simulation’s biggest advantage is accelerating lead times from device makers. In the case of SHL Medical, both new and existing projects benefit from the plant simulation team’s effort to dynamically analyse opportunities for process improvement and optimisation in real time.
“Through an internal request control system, any SHL employee can request and review optimization proposals for production procedures or fast operational flows,” explains Walter. “And since we have a very varied landscape of procedures that uses production machines with other degrees of automation, analyzing the interactions between people, machines, and the production organization can bring wonderful benefits for maximizing operational efficiency. »
Plant simulation is imperative for modeling and optimization. For example, in a what-if scenario, initial production parts are moved from the curtain distribution station to a buffer zone before being assembled into the fully automated assembly device (FAAM). It evaluates the trade-off between a smaller, more profitable workforce and a larger workforce in terms of curtain replacement. SHL Medical uses this granular research to identify the optimal balance in terms of potency in various scenarios.
As the number of patients relying on auto-injectors for healing continues to increase, SHL Medical has also found simulation to be useful on a much larger scale.
The company is currently undertaking global expansion, with new production facilities under development in the United States and Switzerland. These sites will bring production lines closer to the headquarters of many leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations and, in combination with SHL Medical’s existing facilities in Taiwan. , will include the true essence of 24/7 operations.
“The simulation team modeled how each of the plants works, from the procedure to the handling of the curtains and the interaction with the devices,” says Walter. “Our goal is to implement equivalent operating models across all plants, although there are significant differences in terms of the design of each facility. This means that our simulation models, whether devices, workshops or spaces, can be used anywhere.
“This is like stepping on the accelerator for SHL Medical’s expansion, as we won’t have to spend time and resources planning the operations of every new facility from scratch.”
While mass customization is expected to be the next trend in autoinjectors, simulation appears to be a component in achieving the production flexibility and scalability needed to meet the desires of pharmaceutical corporations and patients.
To learn more about SHL Medical’s Molly® modular platform autoinjector, download the document below.