Why Humidity Control is Crucial in Pharmaceutical Production

July 29, 2024

Dehumidifiers for Pharmaceutical Production

For pharmaceuticals, research and production needs to be done in the perfect conditions. Not only are pharmaceutical products vulnerable during creation, but high quality is a requirement for every batch.

The best way to create lab conditions for pharmaceuticals is by using the best humidity control systems. Our industrial dehumidifiers are ideal for R&D, production, storage, and every other part of the pharmaceutical production line.

What are Pharmaceuticals?

Pharmaceuticals, or pharmaceutical drugs, are chemical products designed to prevent, cure, treat, or diagnose diseases. It’s a wide industry, with companies producing everything from off-the-shelf paracetamol to life-saving vaccines and cancer treatments.

There are four main classifications of pharmaceutical drugs:

• General Sales Medicines – Products we can purchase from supermarkets and corner shops. These are often for a wide range of illnesses and injuries and can be taken a few times a day at most.
• Pharmacy Medicines – Products that can only be bought at a licenced pharmacy, with a pharmacist present so additional advice or guidelines can be provided.
• Prescription Medicines – Pharmaceuticals that can only be obtained after a specific diagnosis and permission from a GP or doctor.
• Experimental Medicines – Cannot be purchased and are only used as part of clinical trials.

These products take a number of forms. Including:

• Tablets
• Capsules
• Liquids (Such as cough syrup)
• Injections
• Suppositories
• Drops
• Inhalers
• Implants/Patches
• Buccal or Sublingual Tablets/Liquids (That dissolve in the mouth instead of being swallowed)

With so many different products taking different forms, creating pharmaceuticals is a precise and complicated process. But even with the best people, machinery, and equipment, production will be impossible without the right conditions.

The Best Conditions for Pharmaceutical Production

The ingredients in pharmaceuticals can be easily contaminated by airborne pollutants when removed from storage. If contamination occurs, large batches can be ruined, and won’t pass the vigorous safety inspections required before they can be sold. As the ingredients you use can be difficult to obtain and often expensive, you need to ensure that the conditions are perfect during every step of the process.

‘Lab conditions’ is a phrase used a lot, generally to refer to a place that is sealed off while work is being done. In the case of pharmaceuticals, it’s a much more literal definition.

Laboratories need to be completely free from airborne contaminates. The only solution to this is quality air filtration systems. Our systems are designed for cleanrooms (which are labs that can be set up in factories and plants) and use some of the most advanced air filtration technology available today.

Unlike other systems that filter in outside air and clean it, we recycle air that is already in the room. This not only guarantees that there will be 0 air pollution or airborne particles but is also more energy efficient. If your lab(s) are in operation for many hours a day, your energy consumption will be high. Our systems are not only more effective, but also save you money in the long run and help your carbon footprint.

Temperature Control in Pharmaceutical Production

Even if the air is completely clean, there are some factors that can affect pharmaceuticals during R&D and production.

First, temperature. How warm or cold your lab is can greatly affect the lifespan of your ingredients, and how well they combine with others to create your products. If your team needs to change the temperature during their work, it will ruin the lab conditions you strive for, can ruin the batch in progress, and is also time consuming.

Our industrial dehumidifiers make it easy to monitor and control the temperature in the room. They can be set to an exact temperature or will adapt to natural fluctuations to keep it within an acceptable range. This means that no matter what the exterior conditions are like, the ones inside your labs will be perfect all year.

With advanced readouts and simple controls, your team will know exactly what the temperature is, and can adapt it at any time without leaving the lab.

Humidity Control in Pharmaceutical Production

Humidity is just as important to control as the temperature. Pharmaceuticals are very sensitive to moisture, which can affect their effectiveness, storage, and whether they are safe to use.

To ensure there is no harmful moisture around your pharmaceuticals, humidity control is essential. There are multiple stages of production where our systems will control the humidity in the air:

• Blending
• Compression
• Filtration
• Heating
• Encapsulation
• Shearing
• Tableting
• Granulation
• Coating
• Drying

When heating and cooling your pharmaceutical products, you need to prevent the air from being too moist. If uncontrolled, this moisture can cause the product to dry unevenly (making the batch inconsistent).

Encapsulation may occur at the end of the production line, but it’s by far one of the most important steps. If any moisture gets inside the capsule, it will ruin the product from the inside. This won’t be evident while it is sealed, causing a potential health risk to customers.

Every business lives and dies by its reputation; this is especially true for pharmaceuticals. If you release inferior or unsafe products, it is not only costly in the short term, but will affect the trust of your clients and customers. In such a competitive industry, your reputation isn’t something you can afford to risk.

Controlling Humidity in Storage

Humidity control doesn’t end when your production line does. Storing pharmaceuticals is tricky, even if you have the most advanced facilities. Your products must be kept in sealed containers, where no light or odours can affect them.

Once contained, the humidity levels must be kept under control. Depending on the pharmaceuticals you produce, you will need to keep humidity within a specific window. Our systems can adapt automatically to control the humidity in the air, even switching themselves off and on to conserve power. With such advanced detection, there is no need to change settings manually.

Why Choose Dehum for Pharmaceutical Production?

Creating pharmaceuticals is a business that will always be in demand. However, there is more pressure than ever to create quality pharmaceuticals quickly, without putting customers at risk.

In an industry with such high-profile competitors, you need to give yourself an edge. Our systems are not only the best available but are bespoke to you.

With us you don’t get ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions. We meet with you to establish your exact needs and assess the space and facilities you have available. Then we create systems designed around your requirements, so there is no need to rearrange or adapt how you work.

After decades of helping companies like yours to produce pharmaceuticals, we’re confident that we have the best solutions for your business.

We’ve also been behind some truly exciting and innovative new technologies, which have virtually eliminated many of the issues that uncontrolled humidity can cause.

If you need help with humidity control or have any questions about us and what we do, please email sales@dehum.com or call 01926 882624.

We look forward to hearing from you.