Decision Support Method for the Choice between Batch and Continuous Technologies in Solid Drug Product Manufacturing

Abstract

This work presents a decision support method for the choice between batch and continuous technologies in solid drug product manufacturing based on the economic evaluation. The method consists of four steps: (I) modeling of operating costs, (II) evaluation, (III) sensitivity analysis, and (IV) interpretation, with iterations. For a given design situation, manufacturing processes are modeled and evaluated with consideration for the characteristics of the two technologies. The sensitivity of the input parameters is analyzed; after interpreting all results, the economically preferable technology is suggested. As a case study, the method was applied to a situation where a new product was in the late development stage, and one of the two technologies needs to be chosen. After executing the four steps, the comparison result of the net present cost was obtained as the decision support information.