Taking the strain out of sterile pharmaceutical and biotech production.

Today’s pharmaceutical and biotech production sees technicians manually lifting, carrying and emptying sizable receptacles of sterile materials. Fragile components must be handled with care, sterility assurance and containment are imperative and we have to ensure that leak-tight transfer is maximised at all times.

But manual material handling (MMH), if not supported by stringent standard operating procedures (SOPs), may be prone to human error. There is also a growing occupational health issue with the repeated strain of limbs, shoulders and backs, making technicians susceptible to musculoskeletal injuries and chronic disorders that cause pain and even disability.

Optimising the journey to the production line
For more than 50 years, the DPTE system from Getinge has helped project leaders and process engineers to achieve high-speed filling line production without compromising the integrity of aseptic transfer.

The benefits of this system have now been extended with the introduction of an innovative, purpose-built mobile transfer platform — the DPTE Transfer Trolley — to alleviate the reliance on manual carrying and loading … and the associated risks and constraints.

The development of the DPTE Transfer Trolley has followed extensive engagement with customer challenges and a close collaboration with IMA Life during the design review process. “This has enabled a new ergonomic design approach that addresses the needs of the operator while maintaining system integrity,” commented Sergio Manera, R&D Department, IMA Life.

Shortcomings of incompatible transfer platforms
The need for a purpose-built solution has become explicitly clear. We found many instances of tables and rigs being used to support technicians by helping them to transport large containers to the docking port and then elevate and hold them during the loading process. Analysis done in co-ordination with the IMA Life team showed some profound limitations with these devices. For example

different loading ports within the same production environment may vary in height, whereas the device’s level is typically fixed
materials require different elevations to evacuate at a safe speed (liquids, bulk powders and solid components), but single devices cannot meet these requirements without additional manual tilting
most devices assume the use of the same container, which is unable to accommodate all diameters and volumes and incompatible with both rigid, reusable canisters and single-use Polyethylene (or similar) bags
the manual task of stabilising devices is often difficult and time-consuming, and can risk significant damage to isolator doors and walls
large and/or heavy platforms occupy too much space and manoeuvring them is likely to cause as many MMH-related injury risks as they prevent.
Working with partners such as IMA Life, as well as numerous customers, Getinge has developed the DPTE Transfer Trolley, a smart transfer platform for use with all standard DPTE Beta solutions.