Researchers from the University of Liverpool have been awarded funding to develop new technologies to support the production of complex pharmaceutical drugs.
Funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will support the development of intelligent technologies to improve the manufacturing of functional coated pharmaceutical products.
Pharmaceutical tablets use polymer coatings to make them easier to swallow, taste better and extend their shelf life. High-value and complex pharmaceutical products use sophisticated coatings – called functional coatings – to control when the active pharmaceutical ingredient is released in the human body.
Yao-chun Shen, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Computer Science, who is leading the project, said: “Pharmaceutical manufacturing companies are faced with the challenges of producing increasingly complex products, reducing costs while regulators want greater information about products’ critical quality attributes and associated process control.
“We are developing novel sensing techniques and intelligent feedback loops which will help support online measurement systems and greater control of pharmaceutical coating process.
“The ultimate goal of this research is to develop innovative manufacturing technology capable of supporting the manufacture of complex pharmaceutical products that will meet the exceptional quality levels now requested by the regulatory authorities.”
The research is in collaboration with the University of Cambridge.
