Continuous Processing in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The regulatory environment tends to stifle any attempts to change the process once the development stage is over and the product and process have been licensed. This has created a mind set amongst the industry's professionals that batch processes are the only acceptable way forward. However; the regulatory authorities, particularly the Food and Drug Administration in America, have recognized that continuous processing has the potential to improve product quality and are encouraging the industry to reconsider their ideas. This paper examines how chemical engineers can use the opportunity that arises from this changed regulatory environment to revisit their own ideas and drive a change of mind set within the industry.