Pharma and biopharma manufacturers are being asked to do more with less time, fewer handoffs, and tighter margins. As programs move from development into commercial manufacturing, the challenge isn’t just speed—it’s ensuring every step of the process works together reliably, whether the product is a tablet, a capsule, or a topical formulation.

In this Pharma Matters Q&A, Coperion discusses how its Health & Nutrition segment helps simplify that challenge through an integrated, single-source approach to processing. Coperion supports a wide range of operations, from material handling and feeding to mixing, granulation, extrusion, coating, drying, and viscous processing—all designed to work together as a unified system.

Contract Pharma spoke with Sharon Nowak, Sales Manager, Health and Nutrition, Americas; Michael Benjamin, Global Head of Process Solutions and Innovation Centers, Health and Nutrition; and Chris Summers, Global Commercial Director – Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals, about how this approach can ease project planning, support smoother scale-up from R&D to commercial production, and give manufacturers more flexibility as they respond to trends like continuous manufacturing and automation. The conversation also highlights practical examples of how integrated equipment and process expertise can reduce complexity, improve efficiency, and help bring products to market with greater confidence.

Contract Pharma: Coperion’s Health & Nutrition segment integrates multiple well-known brands and experts. From a process perspective, how does this unified offering benefit pharma and biopharma companies working with oral solid dosage forms or topical formulations?

Coperion: Coperion provides complete one source solutions with all processes guaranteed by one supplier. From application engineering, design to system startup and installation supervision. In addition, full aftermarket service and spare parts supply are provided for all the technologies and systems supplied. By combining the well-known brands of Baker Perkins, DIOSNA, Gabler Engineering, Kemutec, K-Tron, Unifiller and VMI, Coperion provides a wealth of expertise in handling even the most difficult flowing, highly explosive and/or potent ingredients, thus ensuring the correct and most efficient and safe components and systems design are provided for the solid dosage form or topical formulation.

This strong unity offers comprehensive solutions for batch and continuous processes. From receipt of raw ingredients, excipients and API’s to dispensing, pneumatic conveying, milling, sifting, solids and liquids mixing, granulating, drying, wet & hot-melt extruding, spheronizing, coating, depositing & demoulding, Coperion provides all from one place: A single source supply from R&D to production processing.

DIOSNA, Gabler Engineering, Kemutec and K-Tron primarily manufacture machines for processing solid products used in tablet and pellet production. VMI, on the other hand, focuses on machines for manufacturing viscous and liquid products, such as ointments, emulsions, and lotions. A notable brand on this list is Baker Perkins, whose starch-free depositors and demoulders are used to produce medical and pharmaceutical confectionery.

Coperion’s Baker Perkins ServoForm Mini small batch depositor sits at the heart of a smaller scale production line.

Through Coperion, manufacturers have one point of contact, harmonized technologies & services minimizing compatibility problems and one set of global specialists supporting regional production requirements and assistance needs. This eases installation and setup, as well as reducing installation time and technical challenges. It facilitates easier troubleshooting and maintenance and thus lowers operational costs.

CP: Many CDMOs and pharma manufacturers are under pressure to accelerate time to market. How does Coperion’s ability to provide solutions “from raw ingredient to finished dosage form” streamline project planning and implementation?

Coperion: Coperion’s extensive knowledge of a wide variety of excipients and active pharmaceutical powder properties ensures that the components and systems provided work together to provide the most efficient process possible. In addition, full validation services can be provided, and as a result faster startups can be realized. This allows the end user to get important pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products to market faster. For the contract manufacturer, this also provides added expertise on a wide variety of unit operations from one supplier, a significant advantage when providing their services to the pharma manufacturer.

CDMOs and pharma companies can expect simplified project management from the single-source responsibility and a seamless process flow, reducing delays and errors. This leads to accelerated development and validation times as well as decreased compatibility and qualification efforts. Altogether, enabling quick adjustments and scale-up with an overall faster time to market.

CP: Can you walk us through an example of how Coperion equipment has enabled a customer to transition from R&D-scale to commercial production more efficiently?

Coperion: Sure, as an example, a highly successful, partnership-driven project culminated in the confident installation of a DIOSNA high-shear granulator, marking the completion of a pellet manufacturing line in 2019 at a rapidly growing CDMO. This was not the first machine sold to this customer but that was the starting point for further collaboration and many projects, not only because of the reliable and robust high-performance equipment but also because of a great and reliable partnership at each time of the project and technology life cycle. Next installations were a laboratory and pilot high-shear granulator as well as a modular laboratory fluid bed processor.

Coperion’s DIOSNA high-shear granulator – fluid bed processor unit ensures high performance granulating results for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.

When the CDMO extended its manufacturing capacities and built a new manufacturing site, it was decided not only to buy single equipment but two full production lines: A granulation line combining a 1250 l high-shear granulator and a 600 l fluid bed processor as well as a pellet line including again a high capacity DIOSNA high-shear granulator and fluid bed processor and a high-performance spheronizer of Gabler Engineering, another Coperion technology brand. Gabler had already successful installations at this CDMO, in total 6 spheronizers of different sizes. However, at that time both technology brands were not part of Coperion and delivered complete systems together with partners. Today, both technology brands, with others well known in our industries, are synergized and united under Coperion. The Coperion portfolio can cover the complete line, from ingredient handling to the coated pellet, from one single source, including material handling, dispensing, mixing the coating solution etc. This facilitates procurement, planning, installation and service processes.

CP: Continuous manufacturing is a major trend in oral solid dosage production. How does Coperion support customers in moving from traditional batch processes to continuous operations?

Coperion: When the contract manufacturer is looking to utilize advanced manufacturing techniques, such as continuous processing, Coperion provides lab scale to production scale systems suitable for scale up. Coperion’s extensive knowledge in providing feeding and material handling systems for mixing, granulations or coating operations, as well as full wet and hot melt extrusion systems, ensures the highest product quality and efficacy. Coperion’s loss-in-weight feeder technology is currently used in approximately 85% of the approved small molecule oral solid dosage forms using continuous processing. This knowledge and expertise are extremely important when working with customers who are looking to transition to continuous or semi continuous processes, as the feeders and upstream material handling are often called the “heart” of the complete continuous process.

Coperion’s K-Tron pharmaceutical feeder with a redesigned trapezoid scale shape and significantly smaller footprint is optimized for multi-feeder clusters around a process inlet.

CP: Your portfolio spans processes such as conveying, milling, sifting, mixing, granulating, extrusion, coating, and depositing. How do you ensure that these different technologies integrate seamlessly within a single production line?

Coperion: When the Coperion application and process engineering team receives an application inquiry, the goal is to choose the best and most efficient technologies and components which can be seamlessly integrated into the overall system. In addition, since our equipment experts know the best configuration for the application, the team makes sure to provide the best equipment design, focusing on ergonomics, quick changeover, accessibility, modularity and standardized interfaces. Furthermore, the Coperion controls engineering team ensures that all process steps are integrated and communicate seamlessly, with proper feedback control between the technologies.

CP: Pharma companies often need flexibility to handle both small clinical batches and large commercial runs. How does your equipment design address scalability while maintaining process consistency?

Coperion: Many of our product lines are designed in a modular fashion, thus allowing quick changeover between machine sizes to complete even the smallest batch runs to larger volumes. For example, our DIOSNA line of equipment has a wide variety of modular quick changeover components which use the same drive and overall control system. In addition, our newest K-Tron feeder line allows to change between a wide range of feed rates simply by changing the modular bowl, thus allowing the drive and scale to remain stationary.

Also, an important factor is that the geometry of the equipment and tools from lab to production stays consistent. For example, the bowl of the DIOSNA mixers has always the same cylindric-conical form to ensure that the distance of product, volume and mixing tool is consistent for a successful scale-up. Scale-up is easy because of geometries and using Froude number.

CP: Topical and semi-solid manufacturing has unique challenges compared to tablets and capsules. How does Coperion’s experience in viscous and liquid processing help customers in this space?

Coperion: Coperion’s VMI vacuum mixer homogenizers enable the production of a very wide range of liquid and semi-solid products. This type of equipment includes a double-jacketed tank for temperature control, a vacuum system for introducing raw materials or for degassing, and a triple-agitation system. Each agitator has a specific function:

1. The homogenizer at the bottom of the tank is dedicated to the emulsion, thanks to its high shearing effect.
2. The central upper movement for internal recirculating effect.
3. The peripheral upper movement (anchor type) for optimum temperature transfer between the double jacket and product.
4. A CIP/SIP system can also be added. The entire system is controlled by an HMI with CFR21 Part 11 traceability.

CP: Without naming names, can you share a recent use case where your equipment provided a measurable improvement in efficiency, quality, or time to market for a pharma or CDMO partner?

Coperion: In a remarkable leap forward, one of our valued clients has revolutionized their drying process, achieving unprecedented efficiency with a simple yet powerful upgrade. By replacing traditional tray dryers with a state-of-the-art fluid bed dryer, they’ve slashed drying times from a staggering 24 hours down to less than one hour-a transformation that promises to boost productivity and reduce operational costs significantly.

But the innovation doesn’t stop there. The client also eliminated manual intervention during the granulation phase by integrating the fluid bed dryer directly with their high-shear mixer. This seamless connection creates a closed transfer system, automating the charging process through an automated recipe system. No more manual loading-just smooth, automatic operation that enhances safety, consistency, and efficiency.

One of the fastest growing applications for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries is the use of automated batch dispensaries for the product ingredients, including excipients, API’s and minerals/additives. Traditional past methods included a laborious task of manually weighing each of these ingredients and dispensing them into a bin or IBC before going to the downstream process, e.g. a blender, granulator, extruder, etc. Coperion has recently installed a number of systems to completely automate this process utilizing their material handling and conveying equipment as well as batch dispensing utilizing highly accurate loss in weigh feeders. A recent nutraceutical installation included up to 29 different batch dispensing stations, thus eliminating manual labor and improving the overall quality of the product. Reflecting on another application for a prescription drug product, our K-Tron feeders are used to dispense six different components, including a highly potent API thus also enhancing operator safety. In that instance, the end user has advised that overall efficiency of the process has increased by 80%.

Coperion’s K-Tron pharmaceutical feeders are an integral part of high containment automated production facilities.

In addition to the dispensing applications, other improvements in existing continuous processes have also been made. An upgrade to a system provided for a major pharma company on a continuous direct compression (CDC) system included moving to complete automation and refill of the existing CDC line, in lieu of the previous manual refill systems. By automating the refill for each of the five feeders with pneumatic transfer and handling systems, the overall production time of dispensing and continuous manufacturing run times was reduced by 68%, thus increasing overall efficiency and overall quality.

As illustrated in the true installation examples above, Coperion can not only provide integrated systems for new applications, our extremely skilled process and applications engineers can also provide guidance to improve existing operations, thus making them more efficient, safer and improving overall product quality.

Learn more about Coperion >>>