Getinge and IMA Life create flexible solutions for the pharma and biopharma industries

Preserving the integrity of pharmaceutical products, ensuring the maximum level of sterility while protecting both the operator and the environment with innovative containment systems lay at the heart of IMA Life. And in some projects IMA Life works together with Getinge to find advanced solutions to meet the most demanding customer needs.

IMA Life is one of the three Pharma divisions of IMA Group – world leader in the design and manufacture of automatic machines for processing and packaging of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food & dairy products, tea and coffee.

Operating through six production sites, IMA Life is a supplier for companies dealing in the field of aseptic processing, filling technology and freeze drying solutions for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. As a solution provider, the division can satisfy the most stringent requirements, offering products with consolidated technology gained in over 50 years of experience and through ongoing collaboration with leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

“Our aseptic filling lines and containment solutions are designed in cooperation with suppliers who can provide sterile and safe transfer systems. With this in mind, it is clear to us that Getinge is to be considered a real partner rather than a mere supplier,” says Michele Pellegrini, Production Engineering Manager at IMA Life.

Both for Getinge and IMA Life, a strong relationship based on strict contact and cooperation with the customer from the very early stage of the manufacturing process is vital. The aim is to make sure that the machines on order are designed and finalized to be perfectly integrated with the customer’s production site interface.

“As with all our main partners, we involve Getinge from the beginning of the production process to make sure we can fulfill all the customer’s needs together. All parenteral products must be filled according to the industry standards to preserve the safety and aseptic requirements and get rid of waste without any contamination risk for the drugs and for the operators involved,” explains Michele Pellegrini.

When it comes to moving pharmaceutical products in and out of the isolators, Getinge’s DPTE® sterile transfer system is seen as a very good solution by Michele Pellegrini’s engineering staff. It consists of an Alpha port which is installed on the isolator or filling line, and a Beta part which is a rigid container or DPTE-BetaBag® that docks onto the Alpha port. Once connected, they form a leak-tight barrier enabling transfer without risking contamination.

“It is a flexible system allowing a wide range of options when it comes to size, for example, the DPTE-BetaBag® and the doors to the Alpha port”, Michele Pellegrini comments. “It also encourages better opportunities to design the machine in a more flexible way. Flexibility is a key design ingredient for IMA Life equipment. Our customers often need to be able to produce different drug products on the same production line,” says Michele Pellegrini.

“Considering the growing demand for flexibility in fill-finish operations, as well as for robotic and automation processes, I think we have a joint journey ahead of us with companies like Getinge. We need to work together to find better solutions, such as teaming up our engineers already in the R&D process,” concludes Michele Pellegrini.

Fabien Billy, Key Account Manager at Getinge agrees:

“Having a close collaboration with IMA Life, as with all our customers, is extremely important. It allows us to help create even safer tailored solutions for them, which in the end also creates value for the end customer.”