Contract manufacturer - PCI Pharma Services

Maximum flexibility for contract manufacturer PCI Pharma Services.

Customer: PCI Pharma Services

Project: Syringe assembly machine

Timeline: 2019/2020

Our task was to design a syringe assembly line that has the broadest possible processing spectrum and enables precise labeling and retraying syringes and needle protection systems (safety devices).

Project details

  • Syringe assembly machine with a wide range of processing
  • Feeding from nest or tray
  • Piston rod assembly and precise labeling
  • Assembly of syringes with safety device, finger flange extension and backstop
  • Assembly and labeling of rectangular safety devices
  • Precision Labeling
  • 3 Discharge paths

About PCI Pharma Services

PCI Pharma Services is a leading provider of global outsourcing solutions for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. The global healthcare industry relies on the development solutions by PCI, whose experience is based on more than five decades of business operations in the healthcare industry.

The PCI portfolio includes the following services:

  • Drug development and manufacturing
  • Clinical trial services
  • Commercial packaging technology

To ensure first-class technologies and state-of-the-art research, PCI invests continuously, as in 2020 for the completion of its new Biotech Packaging Center of Excellence in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania/USA).

The equipment and the technical standards in PCI’s new competence center are considered “state of the art”. The showcase location is equipped with state-of-the-art systems for packaging pre-filled syringes, auto-injectors and ampoules. In the field of assembly technology and downstream processing, PCI builds on the expertise of groninger & co. gmbh. In addition to lines from numerous well-known partners, the latest expansion now also includes a groninger line for fully automatic high-speed syringe assembly and labeling.

groninger Pharma PCI

The project

In order to meet the different needs of its customers, for a contract manufacturer like PCI, it is crucial to provide a high degree of flexibility with regards to the components to be processed. Therefore, our task was to design a syringe assembly line that has the broadest possible processing spectrum and enables precise labeling and retraying of syringes and needle protection systems (safety devices).

In order to fully meet the requirements of PCI Pharma Services, new developments have also been implemented. These include the SMM120 and MTL300.

The SMM120 is used to label the pre-assembled syringes with a safety device and finger flange extension. The “Prescription Labeling” feature ensures maximum labeling precision with only minimal deviations, which is particularly important for scaled fine dosing syringes. If the customer desires, it also allows the processing of square safety devices. Finally, the assembled and labeled syringes are retrayed with the MTL300.

Various feed options and discharge paths ensure maximum flexibility on the line. In addition to the automatic feeding of syringes in the nest, manual feeding of syringes in the tray and the mechanical and manual feeding of safety devices are also possible. At the end of the line, three outlet paths were also implemented - the groninger Retrayer MTL300, an interface to a blister packaging unit from Dividella and an outlet for manual further processing.

Despite the numerous new developments, groninger was able to meet the requested delivery time of the customer PCI Pharma Services of 18 months by the factory acceptance test.

As a successful system provider for the processing of syringes, groninger offers innovative and individual solutions, depending on the syringe system, output, degree of automation and type of objects.

The groninger downstream syringe assembly equipment enables us to offer the greatest flexibility for our clients. We never had such a project with such flexibility in syringe assembly. With this technology, PCI are able to convey the syringes via tray or via nest. The syringes can be equipped with a safety device, add-on finger flange or even backstops. This equipment allows us to label round and squared safety devices with the highest precision available. This makes a big difference in serving the CMO marketplace.

Chris Blanton
Vice President and General Manager, PCI Pharma Services