iNova Technology Centre opens door to PSA members

15 October 2009
 Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) members experienced a rare opportunity this week when a group of pharmacists toured iNova Pharmaceuticals’ manufacturing, laboratory and product development facility, the iNova Technology Centre, at the company’s corporate headquarters in Sydney.

Designed to educate pharmacists about Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Laboratory and Warehouse Practices and apply this knowledge to the pharmacy setting, an extra benefit of the inaugural tour for pharmacists is PSA accreditation as a Continuing Professional Development activity, which earned participants CPD points.

Participants saw first hand the Centre’s technologies and processes used to manufacture solid and liquid dosage forms into a variety of product presentations ready for sale.

In addition to manufacturing, packaging and product release processes, the tour included inspection of the Centre’s comprehensive, world class, quality control and analytical laboratory where extensive testing and validation of all iNova manufactured products take place, as well as new method development and validation.

PSA National President Warwick Plunkett said “There are very few opportunities for pharmacists to see the strict standards applied to pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality control of medicines, yet this is very relevant to pharmacy practice, particularly when advising patients and consumers about product quality.”

“The knowledge gained from the iNova tour will help pharmacists to confidently manage customer issues relating to product claims, ingredient content, expiry dates, label/packaging controls, product complaints and recalls”, he said

The guided tour highlighted the various control checks and rigorous validation testing for all products as a necessary requirement of GMP compliant pharmaceutical manufacturing. Among these is the determination of product expiry based on ongoing stability testing and controls.

PSA Communications Coordinator Sue Lovett said, “The practical relevance of the tour for pharmacists puts them in a better position to advise customers when asked about safety issues relating to product content and quality, for example, whether a product is truly “gluten free” and whether certain products can be used past their expiry date.”

Representing a major investment in 21st Century energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies and processes, the iNova Technology Centre represents high quality, cost effective and state of the art Australian manufacturing capability.

Manufactured products include market leading Australian owned and made consumer healthcare brands such as DuroTuss® and Difflam®, as well as a wide range of prescription medicines destined for Australia and many export markets.

Media contact: Athena Kolivos 0412 857 698

Further information is available at www.inovapharma.com

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iNova Pharmaceuticals:

iNova Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty Limited is an Australian owned and operated pharmaceutical company that is the corporate headquarters for iNova Pharmaceuticals (“iNova”) operations across Australasia, the Asia-Pacific and Southern Africa regions. iNova has leading consumer healthcare and prescription product brands in over 15 countries, with a current portfolio of in-licensed and in-house developed drugs that mainly include products in weight management, pain management, allergy, sexual health, dermatology, cardiology and respiratory health.

iNova is borne out of more than 50 years heritage from Riker Laboratories and 3M Pharmaceuticals following the November 2006 purchase of 3M’s Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical business by Australian private equity firms Archer Capital and Ironbridge Capital. Many products originally from these companies are an important part of iNova’s product range as are new ones, developed and manufactured at the iNova Technology Centre in Sydney.

iNova has a broad spectrum of capabilities to extend product brands into new and existing markets. These include high quality sales and marketing execution, in-licensing, developing and acquiring products, alongside manufacturing, quality and regulatory processes.

In addition to its own dedicated business units, iNova works in partnership with companies in other countries to make products available to the broader global community. Consequently, iNova has been successfully launching products (licensed-in or developed in-house) in Australia, New Zealand, South-East Asia and Southern Africa, as well as exports to countries such as Japan, Korea and China.

iNova Technology Centre:

The Centre is a certified Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) licensed Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) site for pharmaceutical manufacturing that also has ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Certification.

Pharmaceuticals are manufactured in liquid and solid dosage forms into a variety of finished product presentations at the Centre, which also has the flexibility in manufacturing capability to switch between items produced in order to meet market demand changes.

Manufacturing product 24 hours per day, six days a week, the Centre houses modern facilities such as:
• Research and development pilot plant and laboratories;
• Fully equipped analytical chemistry and microbiology quality control and laboratories;
• Manufacturing facilities for solids, liquids, cream products, bottles and blister packaging.
• Warehouse and Distribution

Over 170 well trained and quality conscious employees work at the Centre including manufacturing staff, mechanical, process and validation engineers, research/product development chemists, analytical chemists, microbiologists, quality assurance, control and compliance staff, and warehouse personnel.

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia:

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is the peak national professional pharmacy body representing some 80 per cent of pharmacists across Australia. Initiated by the state professional pharmaceutical societies in 1977, some of which had been in existence for over 100 years, establishment of the PSA provided the profession with a national identity and opportunity to more effectively regulate its affairs, to achieve better coordination in consultation and liaison with the Commonwealth Government, other professions and industry.

The PSA performs a dual function in supporting pharmacists’ commitment to high standards of patient care and continuing professional education, as well as representing their role as frontline health professionals. The PSA’s primary role is to provide initial and ongoing education, training and practice support tools for pharmacists and pharmacy staff.

The Society is the leading advocacy organisation for pharmacists, influencing attitudes, opinions and policies through representation, networking, consultation, continuing education, practice support, standards, guidelines and a range of publications and health promoting programs and resources.

Further information is available at www.psa.org.au

DURO-TUSS ™

DURO-TUSS range of products provide effective relief of dry and chesty coughs

Difflam ™

Difflam range of products relieve painful conditions of the mouth and throat.

Allergy A to ZEP

A range of allergy medications designed to relieve different allergy symptoms.