Malvern acquires image analysis technology

Malvern Instruments Ltd (Malvern, UK) has acquired the technology and manufacturing rights for the PharmaVision 830 - an automated particle size and shape analyzer developed by Swedish company Pharma Vision Systems AB and which Malvern Instruments has been distributing successfully world-wide for the past two years.

The acquisition adds imaging and image analysis to Malvern Instruments' core technologies and complements the company's expertise in light scattering.

Paul Walker, Managing Director of Malvern Instruments, said: "This is another example of Malvern's expertise in identifying important new technology and working with high-tech partners to bring the technology to market. It is also an important step in Malvern's major and ongoing commitment to the pharmaceutical industry. The PharmaVision 830 will be especially valuable in relation to the US Food and Drug Adminstration's (FDA) Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) initiative."

The FDA's PAT initiative is an effort to facilitate the introduction of new technologies to the manufacturing sector of the pharmaceutical industry. Process Analytical Technologies are systems for the analysis and control of manufacturing processes, based on timely measurements of critical quality parameters and performance attributes of raw and in-process materials. Within the pharmaceutical industry the PharmaVision 830 has proved its worth in this respect. The combination of both particle size and particle shape characterization is invaluable for trouble shooting purposes. Correlating process variations with additional analytical parameters enables the establishment of causal links between process variables and product performance, and leads to greater insight into the processability of input raw materials. The result is improved product quality and increased manufacturing efficiency.

The PharmaVision 830 is an automated image-analysis-based particle characterization system. It has been developed primarily to support the pharmaceutical industry in defining key quality parameters for materials used in formulations. Traditional particle size measurement techniques take little account of particle shape. As a result, accurate analysis and monitoring of pharmaceutical blends and mixtures, which often comprise a variety of particle shapes, has always posed a challenge. The PharmaVision 830 offers advantages over traditional particle analysis methodologies by examining shape as well as size in dry powders, allowing better characterization of blends as well as pure samples.

Quelle: Malvern Instruments