International Pharmaceutical Expo (INTERPHEX), the premier event dedicated to pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovation, technology and knowledge from development through commercialization, and sponsored by The Parenteral Drug Association (PDA), annually attracts global industry professionals and industry leading exhibitors to discuss the most pressing development and manufacturing challenges. At this year’s show, INTERPHEX celebrated 40 years of excellence in showcasing state-of-the-art innovation and technology to positively impact pharma, bio and device development and manufacturing. Key themes at INTERPHEX 2019 included technological advances such as gene therapy, stem cell research, continuous manufacturing, robotics in isolators and Pharma 4.0, among many other technologies.
“For the past 40 years, INTERPHEX has consistently served as the marquee venue bringing together attendees and exhibitors within the pharma, bio and device development and manufacturing sectors,” said Kate Scott, Event Director at INTERPHEX. “The theme of this 40th anniversary show, ‘Focus on Innovation and Industry Trends’, was true to form with the conference featuring full product development lifecycle solutions to advance and manufacture cost-effective, quality product.”
“This year, INTERPHEX has once again provided the best platform for the top engineers in the industry to present and discuss the latest technical solutions for safe and cost-effective drug supply,” Sterling Kline, Vice President at IPS-Integrated Project Services.
“Each year the INTERPHEX team delivers an event where exhibitors and attendees can connect with industry customers, partners and affiliates in an easy to navigate environment. As this industry continues to evolve at a more rapid pace, we find great value in being able to directly engage with these critical contacts, as well as being able to communicate our own advances on a wider platform,” said Morgan Norris, Vice President of Marketing, Pall Biotech. “Our team remains driven to continuously improve bioprocessing by focusing on solutions that fit each customers’ journey. Our time in New York provides insight into how best to optimize and expand our portfolio to provide the most flexible and complete solutions on the market from upstream to downstream to final fill. We are thankful for another great year, and look forward to connecting again in 2020.”
Key Highlights at INTERPHEX 2019
INTERPHEX, in collaboration with IPS, a leading provider of engineering, procurement, construction management and validation services, debuted INNOPHEX which featured dedicated exhibits, technical conference and networking opportunities focused on cell processing, gene therapy and Pharma 4.0 technologies. Pall Biotech, a division of Pall Corporation, which delivers total product and service solutions to global researchers, developers and manufacturers of large and small molecule drugs, advanced therapies and vaccines, was the Foundation Sponsor of the INNOPHEX Technical Conference. Germfree, a leading supplier of controlled aseptic environments and containment safety solutions, sponsored a networking event specifically for those attendees most interested in these technologies.
In partnership with Pharmaceutical Processing, INTERPHEX delivered the 2019 INTERPHEX Live Program, which offered attendees the opportunity to view expert discussions live as they were broadcast throughout the show floor and recorded for “on-demand” post-show viewing. On Day 1, Meghan Gutierrez, Chief Executive Officer at Lymphoma Research Foundation and Dr. Michael E. Williams of the University of Virginia Health System delivered a lively panel discussion with moderator Russ Somma, PhD, of SommaTech Consulting. Gutierrez and Williams discussed “Oral Administration and Therapy” as applied to the use of oral therapies and adherence in the treatment of lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
“We found this year’s INTERPHEX conference to be a positive experience and a platform to discuss issues relevant to our community, such as the use of oral anti-cancer treatments, with a diverse group of industry peers,” said Meghan Gutierrez, Chief Executive Officer of the Lymphoma Research Foundation. “Highly active oral anti-cancer agents are rapidly shifting treatment paradigms away from traditional chemotherapy administration at infusion centers. INTERPHEX provided an important venue to address the priorities and challenges faced in managing oral therapeutics, especially for lymphoma and related malignancies.” Michael E. Williams, MD, ScM, Professor, University of Virginia Cancer Center and LRF Scientific Advisory Board member.
MG2/MG America, supplier of today’s finest European-crafted packaging and processing machinery, debuted the MG2/MG America Processing & Packaging Summit. Held on the show floor, the Summit offered innovation in exhibiting while sharing insight and innovation on important industry topics, including continuous manufacturing, pharmaceutical glass handling and automation integration. The Summit concluded with an exploration of encapsulation containment challenges and solutions followed by a networking reception specific to processing and packaging.
groninger launched INTEGRA, a collaboration with SKAN, the first bulk processing line incorporating both filling machine and isolator from conception. “The INTERPHEX show is still the main event for the pharmaceutical industry.” said Dirk Schuster, VP of Machine Sales at groninger. “We were excited to be part of it to meet with a broad spread of interested attendees looking for the newest technologies and innovations presented at the show.”
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group is the leader in niche peristaltic and sinusoidal pumps and associated fluid path technologies.
“Watson-Marlow was pleased to launch the Flexicon FPC60 peristaltic fill/finish system at INTERPHEX this year,” explained Russell Merritt, Marketing Manager at Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group. “The opportunity to showcase this significant product at an event like this is wholly unique and affords Watson-Marlow the opportunity to engage with existing customers as well as develop potential partnerships with new ones. INTERPHEX is a singular event in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical market and as an exhibitor, Watson-Marlow is able to present a wide array of fluid path solutions to a diverse and ever-expanding audience.”
ProMach offers more than a century of experience, designing, manufacturing, integrating, and supporting the most sophisticated and advanced pharmaceutical and medical packaging solutions in the marketplace. “We are very excited for the many opportunities that arose at INTERPHEX 2019. We were delighted with the interest we’ve received for our new NJM Cumulus™ Model SLPP-15 Case Packer on the floor of INTERPHEX,” said Daniel Lapierre, Vice President of Marketing for the ProMach Pharma Business Line. “Additionally, we’re pleased with the reaction from the INTERPHEX audience for our brand new, cutting-edge LP-100R printer from our Weiler Labeling Systems division.”
Quartic.ai debuted and demonstrated a new AI-powered smart manufacturing platform. The Quartic Platform™ helps manufacturers make their legacy processes and facilities smarter, leading to increased productivity and a reduction in manufacturing costs. “Our first exhibition at INTERPHEX was tremendously successful for Quartic.ai,” said company co-founders Rajiv Anand and Blair Fraser. “At the show, we launched the Quartic Platform, the first AI-powered smart manufacturing platform built specifically for operational technology (OT) users. INTERPHEX 2019 was the perfect venue to introduce the Quartic Platform and showcase its life sciences capabilities to conference attendees. We look forward to coming back to INTERPHEX next year!”
INTERPHEX and Pharmaceutical Processing announced the 2019 INTERPHEX Exhibitor Award Winners. Winners were awarded in the following categories: Best in Show, Best New Product/Service, Editor’s Choice, Best Technological Innovation, Efficiency Champion and Biotech Innovation.
Best in Show: SKAN US – SKANFOG® Spectra Modular Aseptic Processing and Sterility Testing Isolator System with SKANFOG®, NANOX and Total Service Response
The SKANFOG® Spectra Modular Aseptic Processing and Sterility Testing Isolator System is used in all phases of small-scale pharma and bio production, but is primarily used in manufacturing steps for drug product fill-finish, cell and gene therapy, open aseptic process containment and sterility testing in the Quality Control Microbiology Lab.
“INTERPHEX 2019 was once again a great exhibit for SKAN,” explained Larry Cabeceiras
President at SKAN US. “We were surprised and excited to learn our new SKANFOG SPECTRA Isolator won Best in Show. Our booth traffic was heavy all three days, and we now have many new leads to follow up on, as well. We also heard from many of our strategic partners that they experienced solid booth traffic during INTERPHEX 2019.”
Best New Product/Service: MilliporeSigma – Single-use Pellicon® Capsules with Ultracel® Membrane
Single-use TFF with Pellicon® Capsules with Ultracel® Membrane eliminates the cleaning steps before and after product processing for increased facility throughput.
“We are excited to offer a new product that overcomes the limitations of other single-use TFF devices to help our customers manufacture their therapeutics with greater speed, flexibility and confidence,” said Nick Landry, Head of Ultrafiltration Product Management at MilliporeSigma. “The Best Product/Service Award at INTERPHEX 2019 is a testament to the dedication and creativity of our team at MilliporeSigma. We strive to bring our most innovate products to market at INTERPHEX because there isn’t another event in North America where this many industry professionals and top-tier suppliers come together to showcase their new technologies and talk about the most pressing issues in biopharmaceutical processing.”
Editor’s Choice (sponsored by Pharmaceutical Processing): Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing Inc. (GRAM) – Flexible Commercial Manufacturing Expansion
The fee for service business model utilized by contract development and manufacturing organizations, such as GRAM, benefits the industry by creating efficiencies in the marketplace that would otherwise not exist.
“GRAM is excited to announce that our new state-of-the-art facility will significantly increase our capacity and capabilities,” said Thomas J. Ross, President and CEO at Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing. “Our focus is on both clinical and commercial fill/finish with a full suite of analytical services to meet the growing needs for the small
molecule and biologics markets. To meet that demand, and to continue our emphasis on quality and exceptional customer service, we have purchased best-in-class filling and finishing equipment, and our new world-class pharmaceutical facility will be GMP ready in 2020.”
Best Technologies Innovation: Meissner Filtration Products – CryoVault™ Platform
The CryoVault™ platform, a new freeze/thaw platform for biopharmaceuticals addresses the industry’s need for large scale solution and meets the needs of industry with a robust, scalable, truly single-use solution for 100 L+.
“INTERPHEX 2019 gave us the opportunity to catch up with our clients and showcase our latest innovations and product advances in filtration and single-use systems,” explained Karisa Koenig Director of Marketing at Meissner Filtration Products. “We were honored to win the “Most Innovative Technology” award for our delivery of CryoVault™ – a freeze/thaw platform for bulk drug substance – and being able to demonstrate how this product portfolio will positively impact our clients in this critical operation was priceless!”
INTERPHEX Efficiency Champion: Southfork Instruments – Kemtrak SU UV Absorbance Cell System
The Kemtrak Single-use UV Absorbance Cell System is used as part of a UV absorbance measurement circuit and can be used with a DCP007-UV process scale UV absorbance analyzer, even at discovery level, so data developed directly transfers through the scale up process.
“Exhibiting at INTERPHEX 2019 allowed us to showcase innovative new products while giving us the opportunity to network with industry leaders on current trends and developments,” explained John Daly, General Manager at South Fork Instruments, Inc. “South Fork Instruments is extremely proud to have been recognized with the efficiency champion award at INTERPHEX 2019 for the Kemtrak Single Use UV Cell.”
Biotech Innovation: Optima Pharma/Metall+Plastic – DECOpulse® Biodecontamination System
The DECOpulse® Biodecontamination System with atomization-driven evaporation of hydrogen peroxide is utilized in upstream processes of aseptic production of pharmaceuticals as well as in quality control in aseptic production.
“We’re so pleased to exhibit once again at INTERPHEX and equally honored in receiving the show’s Biotech Innovation Award for our DECOpulse® Biodecontamination System. The DECOpulse® system enables shortened decontamination cycle times (up to 50 percent less time), increased uptime and improved product safety due to of reduced outgassing,” explained Dena Flamm, Business Development Manager at Optima Pharma/Metall+Plastic.
