A spin-off from Medelco (press retrofitting and general mechanics), Lyon-based Medelpharm boasts over 35 years' experience in the compression field. Among other activities, the precision engineering company is the world leader in compaction simulators for R&D with the Styl'one Evo and Styl'one Nano presses, and provides innovative services for powder analysis and formulation support.
These unique presses stand out from the competition thanks to their ease of use, coupled with top-quality measurement and data processing. Their 100 % electromechanical design, with no hydraulics, ensures the performance and reproducibility of measurements essential to meeting the requirements of expert formulators.
Medelpharm has also developed two other major activities: the distribution of partner equipment, and a powder compression and grinding laboratory business.
Earlier this year, its Medelpharm Distribution division announced the signing of an exclusive representation agreement for the full range of Korsch products and services in France and Belgium.
This range of compression presses completes Medelpharm's portfolio of products and brands for powder processing. This contract supports the strategy of the Medelpharm Distribution division, which aims to dominate the powder compression market, from R&D through to production in the pharmaceutical, chemical, food supplements and cosmetics sectors.
Korsch has been exclusively developing and producing tablet presses and systems for regulation, tablet inspection and data analysis since 1919. The German company offers a wide range of machines, from pilot equipment to high-capacity production presses. Renowned for their quality and technological advance, these presses cover a wide range of applications, right up to 5-layer and double-core tablets. The equipment also meets the most demanding containment requirements, as well as specific applications such as very large tablets (battery, salt, detergent, etc.).
The "Medelpharm Science Lab" application laboratory, based near Lyon, is open to compression and grinding demonstrations and tests. Science Lab scientists carry out custom studies, assisting and training customers on equipment. They also support customers in formulation optimization, powder characterization and particle engineering. "Our application laboratory offers several laboratory services such as powder and formulation characterization, formulation support, compression testing, troubleshooting and scaleup assistance."says Thomas Perron, Sales Manager Distribution.
The SME has bundled services and equipment to meet specific needs. It can support a customer during R&D, scale-up and production phases, thanks to its in-house skills (in terms of compression simulators and powder compression expertise) and partners for whom it is an agent or distributor in France. For example, it works with Xedev's formulation, granulation, coating and powder atomization application laboratories. It also offers Korsch R&D and production rotary presses, Quadro- Fitzpatrick grinding and sieving equipment, Granutools powder characterization equipment (flow, tapped density and electrostatic charge can be characterized), LB Bohle production equipment (weighing, mixing and handling, wet granulation, dry granulation and coating systems for production), Procept R&D wet granulation, coating, extrusion and powder atomization systems, and Caleva R&D and production extruders and spheronizers.
"A pharmaceutical manufacturer, for example, who has established a formulation for the manufacture of tablets, can call on us to study the compressibility of its formulation. Powder characteristics will be studied for all formulation components, in terms of morphogranulometry, flow, tapped density and true density, for example. Sensitivity to electrostatic charge can also be checked, before subjecting the powder to compression tests. On very low powder volumes, our Styl'One Evo press is able to reproduce the linear displacement speed of production rotary press punches, enabling us to analyze powder behavior at high production speeds. This is a key advantage for our customers in the development phase, explains Thomas Perron. Customers can also contact us to purchase production machinery. Each customer request is unique. We are specialists in compression and powder processing: as soon as a customer has a problem related to grinding or powder processing, we can provide the expertise and equipment they need, with our teams or with the right partners."
Medelpharm caters mainly to the pharmaceutical industry, and to a lesser extent to chemical manufacturers, food supplement producers and the food industry. Cosmetics represent an increasingly important market. One notable feature of this market is its growing activity in the field of solid, dry cosmetics. "We're seeing a groundswell of activity in dry cosmetics, even if volumes are not yet significant, as manufacturers are not yet familiar with the idea of turning to a specialist company like Medelpharm. More and more customers are asking us about our experience in the cosmetics sector," emphasizes Thomas Perron.
Styl'One Nano: an R&D tablet press for the lab bench
Designed by Medelpharm, Styl'One Nano is an R&D tablet press for the laboratory bench, with functions and features unmatched in its class. Intended for scientific formulators, this equipment enables the formulation and characterization of compressed powders for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, chemical and food industries.
Its advantage is that it natively offers the compression profiles described in USP , which serve as a reference for characterizing powders in compression (extended dwell time, V-profiles, simple compression, pre-compression and main compression). The ability to reproduce pre-compression and main compression cycles in the same way as rotary presses makes it a new tool on the market.
Compact and mobile, the Styl'One Nano is designed for installation on a table, a mobile base with castors or a laminar flow cabin. At a price designed to appeal to the widest possible audience. Medelpharm's ambition is to install a Styl'One Nano press in every laboratory developing compressed solid forms!