Juniper Pharma Services Expands Granulation Capabilities

Juniper Pharma Services, a subsidiary of Juniper Pharmaceuticals Inc has added a roller compactor to its enabling technologies platform to satisfy increasing market demand for its pharmaceutical development services. The UK-based contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) has purchased a Gerteis MINI-PACTOR® to expand its granulation capabilities and support recent capability extensions made in spray drying, Xcelodose® technology, bi-layer tablets production and high-speed encapsulation.

Located in Juniper Pharma Services’ GMP-compliant production facility, the MINI-PACTOR® will process 10 grams per trial up to 100kg/h, making it ideal for early phase formulation development, clinical trial production, and small scale commercial manufacture. Ian Lafferty, VP of operations at Juniper Pharma Services, said: “This roller compactor is a fantastic addition to our range of equipment and underlines our commitment to offering our clients high specification equipment and a wide range of technologies combined with our science-led problem solving expertise to facilitate their drug development programs.

“The MINI-PACTOR provides us with a valuable tool for processing challenging compounds and meeting our clients’ needs, from development to production, on scalable equipment,” added Ian. The addition of the MINI-PACTOR® coincides with the arrival of the company’s new PSD-1 spray dryer and complements other recent equipment acquisitions. Collectively, these technologies strategically extend the CDMO’s capabilities to ensure the company is equipped to support drug development at a clinical scale, while also giving clients a commercially robust and replicable process. This aligns with the industry’s shift towards continuous processing techniques.

The MINI-PACTOR® offers the latest in dry granulation technology, which improves the material handling and processing characteristics of poor-flowing materials, such as amorphous solid dispersions and low dose compounds including potent materials. An alternative option to traditional wet granulation techniques, dry granulation eliminates the need for the addition of liquids and heat, which in turn streamlines processing.

Supporting pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide, Juniper Pharma Services develops and produces oral and topical drug products. Routinely dealing with compounds with significant formulation challenges, its team is able to optimise formulation performance through its science-led approach to projects.