An overview of pharmaceutical industry Essay

Pharmacy is the art and science of preparing and dispensing drugs and medicines. Pharmaceutical industry design demands specialized knowledge, a good understanding of how the industry is run and how to ensure the production of efficacious and quality products for the consumer. The regulatory requirements for production facilities within the pharmaceutical industry are being continually tightened, so the manufacturers must be abreast with changes in the industry. The contamination control, hygiene, sanitation, security and proper control of parameters as lighting, temperature, humidity and ventilation are of prime importance throughout production, ultimately to ensure the quality of the product. In the design and construction of the facility, emphasis on details too, such as window edges flushing with walls, doors being opened by elbow pads or foot kicks, well sealed floors and ceilings help to reduce contamination. It is also observed that sequential arrangement of procedure, through equipment and personnel positions and material movement through production would also prevent contamination as there would be no crisscrossing movement patterns. The positions of personnel and equipment with a good idea of how materials would move smoothly through production should be well thought of by the designer. Indeed a good understanding of procedure should be sort by the designer or more effectively a design team involving experts from any technical field beyond the expertise of the architect. At the design stage, issues such as hazardous materials, effluent problems, equipment to be used and also automated systems.... every aspect of the design should be considered  manufacturing process, personnel flow support areas(ancillary)1, should be considered and well planned for. A good plant layout will therefore be a collaborative effort of experts with the technical knowledges.

Issues such as lighting, ventilation, temperature and finishes, gradually culminate in the degradation of products and their efficacy, if they are also below the standard. This is dangerous because of the direct effect drugs have on the consumer.

Nowadays, the pharmaceutical industry faces tremendous challenges like the growing market competition, rising costs, progressively rigorous regulatory and collaborative environments, keeping up with the fast changing technology pace, impact in people, huge investments in terms of budget, time and resource compulsion.

The challenging business environment is putting pressure on each business function within a company and each function is trying to meet the challenges by

bringing in as many of the technological innovations as it can convince management

investing in, computer aided engineering and flexible manufacturing systems .

At the pace which technology is moving our world today, one cannot help but be a part of it to survive, especially in the business world. It is awesome what can be achieved today through technology. Simultaneously technology can be very confusing and potentially harmful if accurate and sufficient knowledge is not acquired.

It is imperative therefore to be continually updated on new trends in ones field of business or interest. This would enable one to be competitive, continually producing quality products or services, introducing new ones and delivering in record time.