Bespoke Pump Rig For Pharmaceutical Flushing

Verderflex is known for its ability to provide bespoke peristaltic pumping solutions and that is precisely the reason why Catalent chose the company to design and manufacture a trolley mounted unit for a packaging procedure.

Catalent – a name derived from catalyst and talent - is a leading provider of technologies and services to the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and consumer healthcare industries. It is a world leader in drug delivery systems and its technologies include soft gelatine and Vegicaps® soft capsules. It is for a cleaning process involved in the manufacture of cod liver oil capsules that Catalent required the help of Verderflex.

To produce the capsules, hot cod liver oil is pumped into an encapsulation system. Naturally the tubes carrying the hot gel need to be sanitised regularly and Catalent sought a method of easily flushing the tubes that involved minimum downtime.

Another significant consideration in the design of the system was the nature of the cleansing agent itself. Catalent uses Scalox, a highly effective sterilising solution but can be harmful in direct human contact. The Verderflex solution was therefore required to operate as a closed loop system through the tank of Scalox.

The resultant bespoke mobile rig comprises an IP66 Verderflex Scientific peristaltic tube pump designed for bench-top applications mounted onto a stainless steel trolley. The manual control, variable speed and variable
flow rate pump is fitted with the Verderflex Easy Tube Load Pump Head which makes for very easy and quick tube changing.

The gentle, self-priming pumping action of the Verderflex pump is particularly suited to dosing chemicals and shear sensitive liquids. Its tube is the only part to ever come into contact with the pumped fluid, an important
feature for Catalent as it ensures total containment of the Scalox solution and the safety of its operators.

Verderflex offers a large selection of chemically resistant and hygienic tubing, much of which can be sterilized by techniques including gamma radiation, superheated steam and chemical solutions to provide on-site assurance of sterility. Should production needs alter, the tubes can be easily exchanged. The innovative Verderflex Scientific pump head design also allows units to be stacked for multiple dosing from a common drive.

Catalent confirms the Verderflex flushing rig is working well within its original specifications. However, the teamwork between the companies continues andcurrently Verderflex is upgrading the system to achieve even better performance.