Indian pharma notes that compressed air dryers are crucial in pharmaceutical manufacturing because moisture can compromise drug quality, contaminate formulations, and lead to regulatory non-compliance. Regulatory authorities, including US FDA, EU GMP, and India's revised Schedule M emphasize the use of dry, contamination-free compressed air in production facilities.
The industry is undergoing a major overhaul, with the government taking an uncompromising stand on drug quality. Tabling a zero-tolerance policy for substandard drugs, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) strictly monitors the manufacturing and marketing of inferior-quality medicines. In this pursuit, CDSCO has tightened revised Schedule M regulations to ensure compliance with good manufacturing practices.
We see a rising demand for quality air solutions to drive the growth of the pharma industry in 2025. Looking forward to producing safe, effective, and high-quality pharma products, it is recommended that the industry deploy compressed air dryers to offer quality air solutions. It goes a long way in meeting strict hygiene standards by mitigating the moisture menace that is overshadowing the sector, said Deepesh Upadhyay, Asst. vice president, Delair India specialising in compressed air dryers. According to Upadhyay, compressed air streamlines various pneumatic processes across the processing, manufacturing, and packaging stages involved in pharma manufacturing. Thereby, the compressed air comes in contact with drugs at every stage of manufacturing, and even the slightest trace of moisture in it can have a damaging effect on the quality of the medicines.
At the time of manufacturing, compressed air oversees critical processes such as mixing, granulation, drying, pressing, coating, packaging, and many more operations. It gives the right texture, colour, and flavour to the tablets and capsules. Furthermore, it bodes well for mixing powder, producing granules at the time of tablet pressing, and even drives the coating and encapsulation processes. Likewise, in liquid medicine as well, compressed air is required to achieve accuracy in balancing the ingredients and ensuring precision in formula measurement, Upadhyay told Pharmabiz.
In case, there is any moisture present in the compressed air, it disrupts tablet compression and coating processes. This is majorly because the various materials used in the drug manufacturing are highly hygroscopic in nature where the powdered materials can undergo lumping and caking, causing the failure of the tableting process. In the process, it severely decomposes the drugs and decreases the medicinal value. As a result, it is mandatory to perform compression of powdered material into tablet under high pressure that too in a completely dry state. The side effects of moisture in compressed air leads to changes the colour, smell, and taste of the medicines. Causing blisters, it leads to breakage of tablets and uneven coating, ultimately making medicines unsuitable for consumption, he noted.
The repercussion further transcends to the malfunctioning of the pneumatic machines, crucial in pharma manufacturing. Corrosion in pipes, pneumatic-operated cylinders, zig & fixtures are common outcomes of moisture in compressed air. Therefore, to preserve the integrity of the pharma products and comply with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), it is prudent to install compressed air dryers.
With the pharma industry vying to strengthen its position as the ‘pharmacy of the world,’ incorporating quality air solutions is a significant step in the direction. Compressed air dryers can play a crucial role in bolstering the prospects of the sector both domestically and internationally, said Upadhyay.
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