17/March/09

Sepha debuts new-look machine to US pharma-companies

NORTHERN IRISH MACHINE GETS US DISTRIBUTOR DEBUT IN NEW YORK ON ST PATRICK’S DAY

With business up 7 times in States, NI manufacturer Sepha debuts new-look machine to US pharma-companies in New York on St Patrick’s Day

A leak tester machine for medical pouches & sachets made by the Co Down based manufacturer Sepha Ltd. will get its US distribution debut on St Patrick's Day in New York at INTERPHEX, a major conference & exhibition for the Life Science industries.

The machine, called PakScan, tests for holes, at speed, in sachets and sealed pouches which are increasingly popular form of packaging for drugs. Previously, pharmaceutical companies would have had to rely on the traditional blue-dye liquid testing method to check for leaks in sachets that rendered the packs and their contents un-useable regardless of whether they have a hole in them or not. Whereas PakScan and the method devised by Sepha can identify leaks in single or multiple non-porous sachets and pouches in matter of minutes, using a clean, dry and non-destructive load-cell test, so all samples which ‘pass’ the test can be re-introduced to the packaging line, thus reducing wastage and increasing productivity for the pharmaceutical company.

Aubrey Sayers, Chief Executive Officer of Sepha Ltd, explained: “Interphex is an excellent platform to showcase PakScan with our US Distributor and St Patrick’s Day is an ideal occasion to raise our profile with potential buyers there. We’re doing 7 times as much business in the States now as we were a year ago and the future looks promising too with the new US administration’s recent announcement on R&D tax credits seen by industry analysts as an important step in boosting innovation. President Barak Obama’s focus on investment in scientific technology, which was regarded as ‘severely circumscribed’ by the previous administration, coupled with his commitment to the development of personalised medicines are positive for the drug industry and therefore positive for its suppliers, such as ourselves. As we understand it, we’re also the only manufacturer from the island of Ireland to be on show at Interphex so we’ll be looking forward to celebrating St Patrick’s Day with visitors there.


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