SMART PHARMA

Development and demonstration of new smart and sustainable processes for the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products

SMART PHARMA is a 3-year initiative supported by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, aimed to introduce innovative technologies in Angelini Pharma Italian production plants to facilitate digital and green transition.

The project, which represents a significant step forward in the Italian pharmaceutical sector, intends to:

• develop and test innovative technologies in pharmaceutical production based on Artificial Intelligence & Augmented Reality;
• introduce advanced technologies dedicated to the production of sachet products, both for the packaging process and for the identification of sustainable materials.

The project in numbers   

Why

In the next future, the pharmaceutical industry will be called to promptly reply to the so-called twin transition, where both the green and digital components ideally reinforce and effectively dialogue between each other.

Production machines will be soon equipped with advanced technologies, Artificial Intelligence and analytics will help predict volumes and maintenance, minimizing wastes and improving energy consumption, while Augmented Reality will assist operators in their daily tasks, enriching and evolving their skills towards a human-machine integration.

Within this context, SMART PHARMA represents a core initiative of Angelini Pharma’s digital (and green) transition strategy, with the Italian production plants at the forefront of technologies and industry standards.

What

PLANT INTELLIGENCE

Plant intelligence stands for a set of technologies and tools in a dedicated Cloud platform, integrated with software already in place, to collect real time data on the production machines and lines, to ensure a predictive analysis through Artificial Intelligence algorithms, to reduce and optimize our interventions for breakdowns and to improve maintenance. The solution will be initially developed and deployed in our plants, tested through a pilot in Ancona and then extended to the suitable processes completing Ancona and in Casella.

Proactive machine monitoring and diagnostics enable predictive maintenance, reducing downtime and maximizing productivity. Data-driven insights streamline production lines, enhancing efficiency and minimizing waste. Seamless automation improves operational efficiency and reduces errors. Traceability in the supply chain ensures transparency and information management.

AUGMENTED REALITY

Augmented Reality allows an interactive experience through dedicated smart glasses combining real world with computer-generated content and will be used to assist operators in 2 key tasks: changeover – the process to convert one line from processing and running one product to another – and line clearance – a procedure to ensure that equipment and work areas are free from products and materials from a previous process.

Additionally, onboarding and training will benefit from this technology.

The solution will be developed, tested, and validated in all our Italian plants.

Augmented Reality will help streamline manufacturing processes, providing real-time visual guidance and data to workers, reducing errors and improving the overall efficiency in production, leading to cost savings and higher quality products.

A new production line, with dedicated technologies suitable for sustainable packaging

A new production line for sachet products with advanced technologies will be developed and tested – from an analysis of the state of the art on available technologies to the design and set-up of the new line and the demonstration and validation.

The innovative technology will improve the efficiency and the powder filling process, through a multi-dosing process directly on the line and optimize making process by giving the possibility of creating a lean process into the department by removing some intermediate steps. At the same time, the new production line will allow to test and manufacture products obtained through more sustainable packaging.

How

The project consists of 4 Work Packages, the first one dedicated to an analysis of the state of the art, followed by 3 dedicated to the development of specific technologies:

1. Digital & Green transition in fine chemicals and pharmaceutical production
   Analysis of the state of the art, Proof of Concept, identification of use cases and pilots
   
2. Plant intelligence
   Development of plant intelligence in Ancona and Casella plants
3. Augmented reality
   Development of Augmented Reality in Ancona and Aprilia plants
4. New production line for sachet products
   Engineering of the new production line dedicated to sachet products with new sustainable packaging

About the programme

"SMART-PHARMA: sviluppo e dimostrazione di nuovi processi intelligenti e sostenibili per la produzione di prodotti farmaceutici" (F/310014/00/X56, CUP: B89J23006870005) is supported by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, decreto ministeriale 31 dicembre 2021, Accordo per l'innovazione del 08/06/2023.