Pharmaceutical plants produce, develop, and market medicines for therapeutic and other purposes. While some manufacture generic products, others create brand medications. All the drugs manufactured are patented in the name of the manufacturer. The medicines are subjected to thorough testing and trials before being approved and released for commercial use. Thus their main business is to discover chemical compounds having therapeutic uses and process or modify them for producing medicines to treat diseases and adverse health conditions. Different disciplines of science are used for inventing medicines and food supplements to provide health and well being. For instance, the techniques of Biotechnology are applied for producing medicines and drugs using transgenic organisms like genetically modified plants and animals.

The process of discovering new chemical compounds to treat diseases and use them for inventing new medicines needs years of research and testing before the medicine is finally developed and approved for commercial use. The medicine needs to pass all the quality assurance standards set by medical authorities and should be monitored properly to check for any side effects and allergies. The processing of chemical substances and medicinal elements requires variety of huge machines. The processing, mixing, and compounding of substances should be done in closed system devices so that the health care workers are not exposed to the vapors, aerosols and toxic particles that may tend to escape and contaminate the work areas and medical instruments. The machines need to be regularly cleaned to avoid cross contamination and maintain the sterility of the chemical substances and medicines.

The research activity may be prolonged for years to get the correct medicine for a particular disease. Many substances need to be tested for discovering their therapeutic properties and compounding of different such substances should be done. Several machines like Bioreactors, fermentors, buffer production systems, ultra filtration units, storage tanks, capping and stoppering lines, pipeline conduits, water treatment systems and waste treatment equipment need to be designed and installed in compliance with the cGMP guidelines and FDA standards. The plant design and installation should include CIP, SIP and HVAC technologies. It is crucial that the chemical residue and waste is properly treated and disposed to avoid contamination of rivers or drains by chemical substances. Thus Pharmaceutical plants should not only ensure treatment of patients but also consider the safety of workers dedicated to the discovery, development and production of medicines.

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