Insulin Crystal Facility for Julphar
Having successfully collaborated in the past to develop pharmaceutical installations, including the world’s largest fully automated plant for the production of syrups and suspensions, GEA was the first choice of single-source solution provider when the Managing Director of Julphar (Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries), the UAE-based insulin manufacturer and one of the Middle East’s largest pharmaceutical companies, wanted to discuss a new project.
World Class on a Global Scale
The $136 million facility at Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE was to be one of the largest biotechnological plants in the world for the production of recombinant human insulin crystals. It was to have a floor space of 20,000 square meters, including 5000 square meters of cleanrooms and around 17 km of clean piping. It was a truly massive project that, when operational, would produce 1500 kg of insulin a year.
Working first on the initial concepts and budget calculations, GEA then focused on scaling up the systems from laboratory to production levels and determined important procedural parameters that would serve as a basis for process equipment selection. Once all the plans and the engineering for the production plant had been completed, the next step was to provide all the clean utility systems and manage the process integration, including fermentation, harvesting, chromatography, filtration and freeze-drying.
Strong Collaboration
Discussing the project, a GEA spokesperson noted: “When we started to work on site, we had to carefully manage a team of 100 engineers and fitters and, at the same time, be very flexible; certain process areas had to be optimized and modified to meet specific requirements. Yet, on schedule, the main work was completed.” With excellent co-operation from the Julphar technical team, the principle objectives were successfully achieved.
Diabetes on the Rise
