Journal of Austrian Chemistry

Journal for the Chemical Industry in Austria

Fairs

COMPAMED 2019 finishes with success

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COMPAMED remains one of the world’s leading marketplaces for medical technology processes and components: this year, 800 international exhibitors from the medical technology supplier industry informed trade visitors comprehensively about technology trends and innovations in the halls 8a and 8b. COMPAMED, which once again took place in synergy with the MEDICA medical trade fair from November 18 to 21 in Düsseldorf, Germany, demonstrated the demand for components for digitalized and mobile medical devices for diagnostics and therapy.


This could also be seen at the largest joint booth of the fair, the Product Market by the IVAM Microtechnology Network. On an area of more than 700 m², 55 international exhibitors presented miniaturized components, high-tech microelectronics, intelligent sensors for smart applications, 3D printing, RFID technologies, high-precision tool coatings and functional coatings as well as microfluidic processes that enable improved diagnostics.

Demand of more powerful and digitalized solutions


The topic of digitalizing medical devices and processes remains highly topical. Especially in the field of mobile diagnostics, mobile therapy devices and laboratory equipment, ever more powerful and digitalized solutions are needed. Miniaturized components and processes that enable ultra-precise manufacturing are a decisive factor for portable and connected devices that monitor vital parameters or medication and transmit and evaluate data.

COMPAMED remains one of the world’s leading marketplaces for medical technology processes and components

Microfluidics enable innovative rapid tests

Another trend topic on the product market was microfluidics, which will enable faster and more precise diagnostics and personalized medication in the future. In just a few years, this technology could, for example, allow uncomplicated rapid tests for the early detection of serious diseases such as certain types of cancer, or could implement drug tests safely and reliably on organs-on-chips in the laboratory, making animal experiments unnecessary.

COMPAMED HIGH-TECH Forum attracted visitors

The accompanying trade forum is regarded as an international meeting place for experts and was again very well received by the visitors: more than 1000 visitors attended the presentations within 11 international sessions on all four days of the fair. The company pitch sessions on “Equipment Manufacturer meets Component Manufacturer” and the session on “Digitalization of Medical Equipment” were particularly well attended.

“The main challenge at the moment is to bring the right component and device manufacturers into contact with each other,” explains Dr. Thomas Dietrich, Managing Director of IVAM. “The COMPAMED consistently offers good opportunities for this, both in our community area and at the COMPAMED HIGH-TECH Forum.

Collaborations with medical technology companies from Japan

The topic of cooperation and business initiation was very present this year at COMPAMED and MEDICA. For example, three well-attended sessions at the forum gave insights into the Japanese research landscape and provided information about medical technology from Japan and potential interests of Japanese companies for the European medical technology market. During COMPAMED, numerous organized business meetings were held at the joint booth of Fukushima Prefecture and initial cooperation was initiated.

Already high demand for 2020

The exhibiting companies and institutes of the IVAM area were again highly satisfied with the visitors of COMPAMED. The majority of exhibitors rated the quantity and quality of the leads as “good” or “excellent”. A number of companies have already registered directly on-site for renewed participation in 2020.

Clariant: Bulk Pharmaceuticals Focus at Pharmapack 2019

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Clariant and its Healthcare Packaging business line are exhibiting at Pharmapack 2019 and featuring products that protect the quality and appearance of bulk pharmaceuticals (powders, tablets, capsules, etc.), as well as active ingredients (API) during processing and shipment.

Clariant experts will be on hand to introduce visitors to three distinct solutions that protect against damage caused by high and low humidity levels, and oxidation. All three are produced in new ISO 15378 GMP certified facilities in Belen, New Mexico, USA, Romorantin, France, and Donguan, China.

“It is common practice to include desiccants and other controlled atmosphere products in end-market packaging,” explains Dr. Elisa Le Floch, Business Development & Marketing Manager, Clariant Healthcare Packaging, “but it is just as important to control moisture and oxygen in bulk packaging, to extend shelf-life and prevent degradation and future processing or assembly problems.”

The simplest solutions use desiccant. Sorb-It PHARMA bags, are filled with silica-gel desiccant, while Tri-Sorb® PHARMA bags employ a molecular sieve. Placed inside packages of bulk or finished drugs or work-in-process APIs, these bags adsorb any moisture in the product, or the air surrounding it, to provide a low-humidity environment. Without such protection, moisture can cause a loss of drug potency, caking and clumping that affects material flow, among other problems. The desiccant bags comply with U.S. Pharmaceopeia USP<670> testing requirements for Auxiliary Packaging Components. They are available in a range of standard and custom sizes to suit specific application requirements.

For certain pharmaceutical products, a simple desiccant may not provide the protection required. For these applications, moisture must be controlled to certain specific levels. Powders, for instance, can cake or clump when exposed to too much moisture, while too little can cause undesirable static electricity. Oral forms, such as tablets or gelatin capsules, need a certain amout of moisture to maintain plasticity and prevent brittleness. Even plastic parts used in medical devices, when stored in bulk packaging, can pick up electrostatic charges if the environment is too dry.

For these types of bulk applications, Clariant recommends EQius bags. EQius products are made using specially engineered sorbents that can act as humectants (desorbers) and desiccants (adsorbers) simultaneously, maintaining a particular equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) inside product packaging. This line of standard equilibrium-stabilizer products can maintain specific ERH levels between 10 and 60% to help bulk ingredients in boxes or bags maintain their physical integrity.

“In other bulk applications, pharmaceuticals need to be protected not only against moisture but also against the harmful effects of oxidation. Oxygen can cause several kinds of degradation, a change in color or smell, a change in pH or other molecular properties, or physical changes. In these cases, PharmaKeep Oxygen Absorbing Desiccant Bags (branded & produced by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company and distributed by Clariant Healthcare Packaging) is the recommended solution. PharmaKeep can adsorb both oxygen and moisture to prevent both oxidation and hydrolysis. This makes it an ideal alternative to conventional oxygen absorbers, which may actually require moisture for effective oxygen absorption, or complex and expensive processes such as nitrogen protection, vacuum or negative-temperature regulation. In addition, PharmaKeep oxygen absorber bags may be a good solution for large pharmacies that handle bulk quantities of tablets and use automatic dispensing machine,” Stephane Rault, Product Manager at Clariant, explains.

The show takes place in Paris 6 & 7 February 2019 and Clariant is exhibiting on Stand D20.

About CLARIANT

Clariant Healthcare Packaging offers full line of controlled-atmosphere packaging solutions including pharmaceutical desiccants, equilibrium sorbents, adsorbent polymers, oxygen scavengers and pharmaceutical closures and containers. Using both active and passive packaging technologies, Clariant offers an array of standard components and complete systems, as well as full innovation and development capabilities. By understanding customer needs and expectations, Clariant is able to offer comprehensive and viable solutions that increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve the environmental compatibility of products.

OPTIMA at Tissue World Milan 2019

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Optima Nonwovens offers cutting-edge technologies for packaging paper hygiene products. The OPTIMA OSR, which is just one of the machines that visitors can find out more about in Milan, is specifically designed to process kitchen and toilet rolls. The machine can be used to produce single-layer and multi-layer packaging. The OPTIMA OSR covers the entire spectrum, from small to large pack sizes (min. 100 mm x 150 mm x 95 mm up to max. 650 mm x 650 mm x 300 mm). The product is packed in prefabricated plastic bags, including those with user-friendly carrying handles and perforations for easier opening. The performance of the two-lane version can reach up to 150 packs a minute.

At Tissue World, Optima Nonwovens will also be presenting leading packaging solutions for other paper hygiene products such as paper towels, napkins, wet wipes, and cotton pads. Thanks to their modular design, Optima machines can be easily adapted to meet specific customer requirements. They are also characterized by their format flexibility and quick and easy format changes.

In order to achieve fully automated lines, control stations and secondary packaging machines can be integrated into the systems. The issue of “sustainability” is also one of the focal points of the fair – Optima is particularly interested in what paper hygiene product manufacturers want in this regard. Feedback from visitors will be collected at the Optima booth.

Visit Optima at Tissue World Milan (Italy):
March 25 to 27, 2019, Hall 3, booth no. E10 

AGRANA sweetens BIOFACH 2019 in Nuremberg

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The Austrian fruit, starch and sugar company AGRANA has been presenting its diverse product range at the BIOFACH event (13 – 16 February 2019), the world’s leading trade fair for organic foods, in Nuremberg, Germany for more than ten years. AGRANA’s organic product portfolio ranges from fruit preparations for the dairy, bakery and ice cream industries to fruit juice concentrates, customised products, infant formulae and top quality sugar products. The quality of all of these products is subject to a strict system of controls extending from crop farming to the finished product. In its three business segments, AGRANA supplies both local producers and large international players in the food processing industry.

“The global trend towards organic products continues unabated. Austria is the world leader in terms of the share of organic farming. As a pioneer of top-quality organic food ingredients, we at AGRANA see this as good reason to intensify our efforts to further extend our organic offering,” AGRANA CEO, Johann Marihart emphasises.

Discover AGRANA

In order to offer fans of organic food a chance to discover AGRANA’s broad product range with all of their senses, a professional chef will this year be preparing traditional dishes, such as Kaiserschmarrn, as well as trendy vegan and gluten-free dishes, in an open kitchen. (Hall 1, Stand 1-565)

About AGRANA

AGRANA adds value to agricultural commodities to produce top quality foodstuffs and numerous industrial upstream products. Around 9,400 personnel working at 60 production facilities worldwide generate consolidated annual revenues of around € 2.6 billion. The Group was founded in 1988, is the global leader in fruit preparations and also a major producer of fruit juice concentrates in Europe as well as being a key manufacturer of customised starch products and organic ethanol in its Starch segment. AGRANA is also one of today’s leading sugar companies in Central and Eastern Europe.