The main objective of the pharmaceutical industry is to produce medicines and active ingredients. For this reason, the sector has great relevance for the health of people and animals.
One of the industry's challenges is to prevent product contamination due to the various possible sources of contamination, such as raw materials, clothing and even particles originated in the production process itself.
In this sense, cleanrooms also play a fundamental role in the pharmaceutical industry because they help guarantee the quality and safety of medicines and active ingredients, avoid financial losses, and preserve public health.
This article comments on the relevance of controlled environments and their technologies for companies in the sector.
The importance and function of Clean Rooms
Clean rooms are environments with parameters such as temperature and pressure, humidity and air filtration controlled, where tests and/or product manufacturing are carried out.
Thus, the insertion, generation and retention of particles and the contamination of people and products are minimized as much as possible.
In the pharmaceutical industry, as mentioned, Clean Rooms are of fundamental importance because they prevent particles present in the air from altering the microbiological and physical qualities of inputs and medicines.
Cleanrooms, therefore, must ensure maximum cleanliness and minimum contamination in the air, in products, equipment and even on surfaces such as walls, ceiling and floors, which must avoid the accumulation of dirt and be easy to clean and maintain.
The classification of a cleanroom and the required level of air cleanliness varies according to the type of product, the part of the process to be protected from contamination, and national and international regulations.
In fact, pharmaceutical industries can only operate in Brazil through certification that approves the qualification of the environment.
In this sense, it is necessary to observe norms from bodies such as the Brazilian Association of Technical Norms (ABNT), the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO) and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).
What technology has to do with Cleanrooms and the pharmaceutical industry
When designing a Clean Room, it is necessary to consider the flow of people, products, materials and equipment from the controlled environment and from support rooms and corridors, in order to ensure the performance of all operations safely.
Environmental control is achieved through various technological equipment, such as air filtration systems , pass-throughs, and anterooms . Therefore, technology and cleanrooms are naturally related subjects.
In fact, the need for technological innovation also influences changes in these equipment.
Today, it is possible to install pass-throughs with electric or magnetic key locks, more economical LED luminaires from the point of view of energy consumption and modular construction of Clean Rooms with plaster.
With “Industry 4.0”, technologies such as sensors, the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence should further improve the production and management of pharmaceutical industries by automating operational services and using data in the management decision-making process.
Companies in the sector, therefore, tend to increasingly benefit from the use of Clean Rooms and from the advancement of equipment and systems technology in their production processes.
If you want to read more about how technological advances are modernizing the manufacturing and even the logistics of medicines, download and read the eBook Pharmaceutical Industry 4.0.
