P umping live culture requires a consistent finesse, which if it fails, leads to fatal consequences. Not all peristaltic pumps are created equal, some allow for more human error and errors are not an option.
Fear of pump failure however unlikely is justified.
The food industry sets very high standards for their processes. In the pharmaceutical industry, standards are even stricter and processes need to be absolutely flawless. Adherence to these strict standards could be the difference between product life and death. From bulk handling upstream to downstream it’s a lengthy and complex process that cannot be compromised at any of the many points.
This compromise can take the form of contamination, the incorrect flow of an additive (you don’t want fat cells!) or even a burst tube. If you don’t have a pump with the right sensor leak detection then you’re going to have to clean up wasted (and expensive) product. I’ve been working with pumps and fluid handling for thirty years in many industries, and extensively in pharma, so I can understand the critical nature of customer’s applications in both commercial and mechanical needs and desires.
Here are a few pain points you may consider, which I will expand on in an email series.
- Contamination is always a possibility
In a lab environment, sterility must be maintained and any chance of contamination however small must be prevented. Incorrectly loaded tubes could suffer premature failure, exposing the product to the atmosphere, as just one scenario example.
- Reputation: contamination would be a PR disaster
Reputation should never be at risk. Even one contaminated batch can have far-reaching consequences in times of extreme need.
- Financial consequences
Lost confidence could decimate your place in the supply chain. What would it take to rebuild your good-standing in the market?
- Too many buttons spoil the broth
The trouble with too many buttons, dials and adjustments are that they increase the curiosity to use them. Interference will damage the process. Robots don’t deviate whereas humans can.
- A pump that isn’t audit-proof
If you can’t prove it, they can’t believe it and then we can’t use it. If the information is not in the chain or accountable by the numbers then we don’t have any confirmation of success and simply got it wrong.
As mentioned, not all peristaltic pumps are created equal so rather than risk the space, close your gap to perfect pharma.
Contact Chad in our pharma team for more.
