John Favier, CEO of DEM Solutions presented a paper on using DEM simulation in design and optimization of pharmaceutical production--a timely topic for key pharmaceutical industry representatives who gathered at the 3rd International Graz Congress for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science, held in Graz Austria.
The paper, DEM Simulation: ATool for Design & Optimization of Pharmaceutical Production Processes, looked at how DEM (Discrete Element Method) technology is currently being deployed for pharmaceutical process design and optimization.
Using particle behavior models which capture the size, shape and physical properties of the particles, DEM simulation predicts bulk particle behavior with a very high temporal and spatial resolution. Already well established as a research tool in pharmaceutical process design, the benefits to industry of utilizing particle simulation as a tool for design and optimization of pharmaceutical production processes are now beginning to be realized.
The 3rd International Graz Congress for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science was held at the Graz University of Technology (TUG) of Austria, who opened the Research Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering (www.rcpe.at) in the summer of 2008, in cooperation with the University of Graz (KFU) and Joanneum Research (JR). DEM Solutions are members of the RCPE, which focuses on the development and production of pharmaceuticals, using rational, science-based methods derived from a mechanistic understanding of relevant phenomena at all scales.