Tablet and Herbal Medicine Manufacturing Made Easy

A massive product and process development has transformed how tablets and herbal medicine are manufactured in the pharmaceutical industry. It follows a multi-stage process, with each of them following a highly quality-checked operation.

The process starts with the blending of active ingredients and excipients. The mixing and granulation follows, with wet granulation a little more advantageous than the dry. Both of them have their pros and cons. For instance, wet granulation reduces the level of dust and cross-contamination. Dry granulation is favorable for moisture sensitive or heat sensitive materials. Direct compression is also followed in some cases.

During the compression stage, the granules (wet granulation) or the slugs (dry granulation) are made into the final product. Single punch machine and rotary press are used in the industry for compression.

Herbal medicine, mostly available in liquid and syrup forms, has a benefit on the account of its ingredients. These compositions have been used over a long period of time so there is little doubt about their efficacy. However, there are issues of adherence to quality. Manufacturers are sticking to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and it is evident in the range of products. It has been made more accessible with the rise of alternative medicines and contract manufacturing today.

Compliance with cGMP for Quality Capsule Manufacturing

The need for compliance with cGMP guidelines is that the set standard for quality assurance helps in offering safe and effective health products and medicines to the consumers. The main role of medicines such as tablets, capsules, health care products and supplements is to meet the requirement of its intended use.

Whether one is putting up a capsule manufacturing plant or encapsulation unit, tablet manufacturing unit or any other contract manufacturing plant, it needs to be approved by the main regulatory body. The compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices help in the procurement of a license for carrying out manufacturing work at a unit.

A licensed facility is approved by the health regulatory bodies and similar national or regional authorities. Such a facility and its processes, methodology and operation complies with the guidelines laid down by the GMP or good manufacturing practices of a region or a country. These guidelines may vary from region to region and can have different specifications depending on the laws of Health and Public welfare divisions of the government.

The Health Canada has specific cGMP guidelines that need to be complied by and certain specifications fulfilled by the manufacturing units in the region. In order to carry out manufacturing processes in these units, Health Canada issues licenses for the contract manufacturers certifying that their activities are as per the Establishment licensing framework.

Tablet Manufacturing Through Wet Granulation Process

Contract manufacturing process involves a lot of steps that can be customized as per the specific requirement of the clients. This gives you the flexibility to choose the process that suits your needs and also allows the contract manufacturer to meet to your specific demands without compromising on the quality. Therefore, contractors utilize three major processes of manufacturing tablets. The most common of the process is wet granulation process.

The other two major processes are direct compression and dry granulation. Out of the three processes, wet granulation method is considered most accurate. However, there are certain innovations that are advised by the research and development team of every manufacturer to better the process, but the basic steps remain the same.

The major steps in wet granulation method of tablet manufacturing involve the following.


Milling
The carrier substance that is inactive in terms of medicinal values is mixed with drugs in the required quantity.


Preparation
A binding solution is prepared to be used for further process.


Wetting
The whole mixture is then mixed with granulation solvent or some other binding solution.


Screening
The total wet mass of the mixture is then calculated.


Drying
The prepared mixture is converted into granules and dried after its wet mass is measured.


Screening of granules
The dried granules are then screened for their dry weight.


Blending
The dried and screened granules are then mixed with lubricants to disintegrate the granules. In this process the granules are converted into powders.


Compression
The disintegrated granules changed into powders are then compressed into tablets of desired size, shape and weight.

Once the manufacturing process is complete, the contract tablet manufacturers also label the tablets and pack them as per your specific requirements.