Case Study - Optimum Plant Concepts for Biopharmaceutical Production

Have you ever faced the task of having to develop the best plant concept for a biopharmaceutical production plant? Have you ever had to technically evaluate a plant design during the planning phase or, maybe, approve the project implementation, including a multi-million-dollar budget?

Then you will be aware that there is no such thing as THE best plant concept.

Complex investment projects in the pharmaceutical sector combine a variety of disciplines, need to take external and internal regulatory requirements into account, should be as cost-efficient as possible in terms of both the project implementation and operation, and should also have a minimal CO₂ footprint.

Despite all this, these requirements can be reconciled. A GOOD plant design considers all factors in a balanced way and can be completed within a defined time frame with the anticipated planning reliability.

As an EPCMv general planner, the VTU Group brings all the project-relevant disciplines together under one roof – as well as expertise in the areas of Manufacturing Science and Technology or Sustainability. This is the result of a pool of 10,000 years of experience in planning and expertise – for both the completion of an investment project and the manufacturing process or technology transfer as well as the day-to-day operation of the plant.

In this context, we have developed a multidisciplinary case study for a large-scale biotech plant which compares five different design variants for the buffer area of a downstream process and which we are publishing as a 3-part mini-series. In this respect, the calculated values for CAPEX, OPEX and the CO₂ footprint are compared.

Here you can find all parts of the case study:

Part 1 - Framework conditions