Life Sciences

Pharmaceutical industry

The pharmaceutical industry is engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of disease and health care.

This sector is one of the most regulated and documented in the global industry. It demands high levels of air cleanliness and requires high standards of filtration that very few companies can meet. As such, every process and production stage, from design through to commercial batch manufacture, has regulated and validated requirements, including the environmental conditions in which each process must take place.

Common pollutants in the pharmaceutical industry

The microscopic dimension of the pollution sources, due to their size, makes the problem difficult, because the air contains different micro-organisms:

• Pollen 10 microns
• Viruses between 1/100 and 1/1000 of a micron
• Bacteria between 0.2 and 10 microns
• Fungus spores vary between 1 and 10 microns

One cubic metre of outdoor air can contain between 200 and 1500 bacteria than in a ventilation system with an airflow of 10,000 m3/h. We can introduce between 2 to 10 million bacteria per hour into a production plant. Inefficient air filtration cannot guarantee process reliability.

Why is filtration important in the industry?

Air filters are essential for the reliable and safe production of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics and biopharmaceuticals. Processes in these industries are particularly sensitive and can be easily affected. They require a totally clean and controlled environment, governed by strict regulations and requirements to ensure the safety of processes and products.

The air-conditioning systems in the facilities of these industries must meet the most stringent requirements in terms of protection and safety. They must guarantee the absence of microscopic contaminants and microorganisms, especially in the most critical areas (laboratories, clean rooms, production and packaging areas, etc.) and optimal comfort conditions. Only systems with highly efficient filters, such as those from Venfilter, can provide this type of control.

Areas within the sector

• Storage area
• Service room
• Formulation tanks
• Intermediate filling area
• Packaging

Critical areas in the pharmaceutical industry

Air conditioning and ventilation management in these facilities involves controlling unwanted particles in the air and reducing or minimising the adverse effects that can affect people, materials and the environment. This can be done through air treatment, conveying, filtration and supply air. Ensuring a high level of cleanliness and quality to protect products, processes, people and the environment from pollutants.

Areas to be adapted to reduce and prevent microbiological contamination in laboratories:

• Aseptic processing clean rooms
• Production and packaging areas
• Air handling units

A clean environment is paramount

A controlled environment is essential to ensure the integrity of the medicinal product or device and to guarantee the repeatability and reproducibility of the production process once validated. The safety of personnel who may be exposed to contaminants is also paramount. It is essential that researchers and laboratory employees are protected from contamination. It is also essential to prevent contaminating micro-organisms from escaping from these controlled environments.

Meet safety standards with Venfilter

The manufacture of medicines for humans or animals, as well as medical devices, APIs, nutraceuticals, food supplements or cosmetics, is governed by the highest quality and safety criteria for products and people.

Veterinary

Veterinary medicines are pharmaceutical products specifically designed to treat diseases, prevent health conditions and promote the welfare of animals.

Like human medicines, veterinary medicines may be available in different forms, such as tablets, liquids, injections, ointments, creams and sprays.

Ensure the quality of the final product with Venfilter

In the pharmaceutical industry, including the production of animal drugs, product quality and safety are of paramount importance. Air filtration plays a crucial role in removing particles and microorganisms in the production environment. This helps prevent contamination of the final product, ensuring that animal medicines are free of impurities and safe for use.

Avoid cross-contamination

In the production of animal medicines, it is essential to prevent cross-contamination between different batches of products. Air filtration plays a key role in this regard by maintaining a controlled environment free of particles and microorganisms. By preventing cross-contamination, the integrity of each batch of medicines is preserved and unwanted mixing of ingredients or components between different products is avoided.

Why is filtration important in this sector?

Filtration is an important step in the manufacture of veterinary medicinal products, as it allows the desired substances to be purified and separated from impurities or unwanted particles.

In short, air filtration in the production of animal medicines is essential to ensure product quality and safety, comply with regulations, control cross-contamination and protect workers’ health. Maintaining a clean and contaminant-free production environment promotes the manufacture of safe and reliable animal medicines.

Cosmetics

The cosmetics industry is a sector dedicated to the manufacture, sale and distribution of products related to beauty and personal care. Cosmetic products include make-up, skin care products, hair care products, nail care products, fragrances, oral care products, body care products, among others.

Sector applications

Protect your product with good air quality

Bacteria or airborne particles can seriously damage the final product which will result in large production and therefore economic losses.

Cosmetics often require filtration for reasons of clarity, bacteria reduction and safety at the point of filling. During the mixing process of raw materials and components, protection from contaminants within the enclosed and external environment or product transfer in the process is critical.

A healthy environment for your workers

The cosmetics production industry deals with fine powders and liquids to create the products. The problem is that these powders and liquids usually have a high chemical load that makes them hazardous to human health.

For example, dosing and mixing operations not only generate these fine powders, but can also cause cross-contamination if there is no proper air filtration.

Meeting quality standards is essential

These products range from creams and shampoos to mouthwashes. These products are used by people on a daily basis, which is why quality is essential. Our air filters are certified and tested to ensure the highest quality of your processes.

Benefits of good air quality

• Reduce absenteeism
• Improved product quality
• Increased customer satisfaction and sales
• Process reliability
• Protect the health of workers and customers
• Reduced maintenance costs

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that uses living organisms, biological systems or their components to develop products, processes or technologies that are beneficial to mankind. It is based on knowledge and application of principles from biology, chemistry, genetics, microbiology and other related sciences.

La bioseguridad como un elemento clave

Biosafety should be understood as a behavioural doctrine aimed at achieving attitudes and behaviours that reduce the risk of laboratory personnel during the performance of their activities. Laboratories are special working environments, which may present chemical, physical or biological hazards.

Risk groups in biosecurity

The World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies the relative hazards of infectious micro-organisms in laboratory work into four risk groups.

• Risk 1

Little or no individual and population risk. Micro-organisms that are unlikely to cause disease in humans or animals.

• Risk 2

Moderate individual risk, low population risk. Pathogens that can cause human or animal disease. But unlikely to be a serious risk to personnel, population, livestock or the environment. Exposure in the laboratory may result in serious infection.

• Risk 3

High individual risk, low population risk. Pathogens that often cause serious human or animal disease, but do not normally spread from one individual to another. Effective preventive and therapeutic measures are available.

• Risk 4

High individual and population risk. Pathogens that often cause severe disease in humans or animals and are easily transmitted from one individual to another, directly or indirectly. Effective preventive and therapeutic measures are usually not available.

Critical areas within the sector

In this sector, there are many different areas with different filtration needs.

Risks associated with biotechnology

• Biotechnological research is born out of the emergence or re-emergence of new diseases. For this reason, filtration is one of the fundamental parameters for the safety of people.
• They do research with viruses, parasites, modified organisms… which they do not know how they are going to behave. Therefore, having it under control is vital for people and also for the environment.

Product quality through filtration

In the production of biotechnological products, such as recombinant proteins, enzymes or antibodies, purification is necessary to obtain a final product of high quality and purity. Filtration is used to remove impurities, such as cells, cell debris, unwanted proteins or particles, and to obtain the desired product in its purest form.

HEPA filtration for a clean environment

Biotechnology laboratories put a lot at risk if the air quality is not excellent. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are mechanical filters with a high capacity to filter out small particles, which are regulated by the UNE-EN.1822-1:2020 standard.

HEPA filtration creates a virtually particle-free laboratory environment (clean room) to prevent product contamination.

Safety with Venfilter

Filtration systems are essential to ensure the safety of biosafety laboratory staff, the community and the environment.

At Venfilter, we have been working for more than thirty years to design certified filtration systems adapted to your needs.