GEA (Düesseldorf, Germany; www.gea.com) is supplying Chugai Pharmaceutical in Japan with a cutting-edge pharmaceutical spray dryer designed and built to meet the highest containment standards. The PSD-3 spray dryer was successfully commissioned in the first quarter of 2025 and represents an important milestone in the collaboration between the two companies. Headquartered in Tokyo, Chugai Pharmaceutical is a leading research-based pharmaceutical company focused on innovative medicines. The project was executed in collaboration with the Japanese engineering company JGC Japan Corporation. This PSD-3, the first pharmaceutical spray dryer built by GEA for OEB-5 products, sets new standards for high-containment pharmaceutical spray drying.
Inlet HEPA filter and top of GEA PSD-3 drying chamber. (Photo: Chugai)
Specially designed for processing highly potent pharmaceutical products classified as OEB-5
The spray dryer has been specially developed for processing highly potent pharmaceutical products classified as OEB-5 (substances with the highest hazard potential), substances with occupational exposure limits (OELs) in the nanogram/m3 range. This makes it one of the most advanced and safest systems ever built for high-containment spray drying in the pharmaceutical industry. This spray dryer is part of Chugai’s new FJ3 pharmaceutical manufacturing facility for OEB-5 products in Fujieda, designed and built in close collaboration with JGC Corporation.
Bottom part of the GEA PSD-3 drying chamber with swing cone. (Photo: Chugai)
A Technological Masterpiece in Spray Drying
“This pharmaceutical spray dryer is one of the most technically advanced spray drying systems ever built by GEA,” says Dr. David Costes, Area Sales Manager at GEA. “Our team’s extensive expertise in spray drying, combined with JGC’s engineering excellence and Chugai’s deep knowledge of high-containment processes, has allowed us to create a truly groundbreaking solution. This system not only meets but exceeds the stringent containment and operational demands of the pharmaceutical industry.”
With over 30 years of experience in designing and delivering pharmaceutical spray dryers, GEA is the leading supplier in the field. Dr. Costes continues, “We are incredibly proud of our collaboration with Chugai and JGC, companies with exceptionally high standards. Together, we’ve developed a solution that integrates advanced containment, precise process control and state-of-the-art automation features.”
Innovative Solutions for High-Containment and Control
The project presented unique challenges due to Chugai’s and JGC’s demanding requirements, especially in terms of containment and process automation. These challenges have pushed GEA to innovate and develop new, customized solutions to achieve the level of containment required for OEB-5 substances. Jesper Hansen, Senior Process Technologist at GEA, adds, “This project has been a great learning experience for us. Working alongside such a detail-oriented and perfection-driven partners like Chugai and JGC pushed us to go beyond conventional limits. Every solution we implemented was tailored to meet their exact needs, and we are proud of the result. This spray dryer is one of the most advanced pharmaceutical closed-cycle spray drying plants in the world and establishes new industry benchmarks for high-containment pharmaceutical spray dryers.”
A collaborative Success with High Containment Expertise
A member of FJ3 project comments, “We are thrilled to have successfully completed this project and to have the new spray dryer now in full production. It significantly enhances our drying capabilities, offering greater flexibility and efficiency for our operations. The collaboration with GEA and JGC has been very rewarding and has resulted in a truly outstanding piece of equipment and a new production facility for OEB-5 products.” The same FJ3 project member adds, “GEA’s creativity and technical know-how were key to delivering a solution that met all our specific requirements. We are confident that this new spray dryer will play a crucial role in advancing Chugai’s product development and manufacturing capabilities.”