Abstract:Global regulatory, manufacturing and consumer trends are driving a need for change in current pharmaceutical sector business models, with a specific focus on the inherently expensive research costs, high-risk capital-intensive scale-up and the traditional centralised batch manufacturing paradigm. New technologies, such as inkjet printing, are being explored to radically transform pharmaceutical production processing and the end-to-end supply chain. This review provides a brief summary of inkjet printing technologies and their current applications in manufacturing before examining the business context driving the exploration of inkjet printing in the pharmaceutical sector. We then examine the trends reported in the literature for pharmaceutical printing, followed by the scientific considerations and challenges facing the adoption of this technology. We demonstrate that research activities are highly diverse, targeting a broad range of pharmaceutical types and printing systems. To mitigate this complexity we show that by categorising findings in terms of targeted business models and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) chemistry we have a more coherent approach to comparing research findings and can drive efficient translation of a chosen drug to inkjet manufacturing.

The removal of several organics (phenol, aniline, acetic acid, formaldehyde, and three azo dyes) from aqueous solutions (pH 2) containing Fe(II) and using hydrogen peroxide produced by the reduction of oxygen at a gas‐diffusion electrode is demonstrated. It is shown that chemical oxygen demand of solutions containing such organics may be reduced by >90% with a current efficiency >50%, leading to acceptable energy consumptions. The approach also clearly has considerable generality. The voltammetry of the gas diffusion electrodes, fabricated by screen printing an XC72‐R carbon powder/polytetrafluorene active layer on a carbon fiber paper support is also reported and discussed. © 1999 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.

Presentation and applied case study of a system-wide workflow which supports rapid, systematic and efficient continuous seeded cooling crystallisation process design, with the aim to deliver a robust, consistent process with tight control of particle attributes.

This study presents a novel approach to designing and evaluating 'last-mile' solutionsencompassing the social and economic perspectives of key stakeholders. While urban system initiatives have been implemented in practice, theoretical gaps remain at the operational design level. A theoretical framework is developed, based on design criteria identified from a critical synthesis of supply chain and operations management literature, and 'operationalised' using an in-depth case study demonstrating implementation of a Consumer Choice Portal-Package Consolidation Centre solution, within a densely populated urban geography.Findings suggest that there is a need to re-define the role of institutional actors beyond that of the traditional governance task, to one of being able to facilitate performance outcomes. Similarly, industrial efficiency dimensions need to be re-orientated to include consumer participation, social considerations and multi-stakeholder service outcomes. Finally, implications for operations theory and practising managers in city logistics are highlighted, with suggested directions for future research.