The FC6200 Formula Control Scale, developed by US-based Doran Scales, is a stand-alone system with a software package which eliminates human error in drug recipes by prompting scale operators of what ingredients to add and when.

"Quality Control is a top goal of any pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, and the FC6200 helps organizations meet or exceed their QC goals by preventing errors in formula mixing," Doran Scales spokesman Mark Anderson told US-PharmaTechnologist.com.

"Using a traditional weighing method introduces the possibility of error. The scale operator can be distracted and forget where they were in the formula."

The scales work by first inputting the drug formula into the Formula Loader software, which comes with the equipment.

Using the Windows compatible software, the plant staff can configure the formulas with Lot identities, ingredient names, ingredient identities, weight tolerances, formula names, formula identities, and the steps the ingredients should be added.

Once the formulas are constructed, the data is transferred to the FC6200 via a USB thumb drive or the optional Ethernet interface.

When the scale operator selects the formula they want to make, they are prompted through the formula one ingredient at a time.

The ingredient label is scanned and the Accu-Track display bar shows how much of the ingredient to add using a Green-Red-Yellow color system.

Particularly beneficial for minor ingredients, Anderson said the $8,000 system increased accuracy in the whole process and provided a digital library of all the formulas rather than a hand-written record.

Ingredient costs should be decreased with the use of the system, by eliminating ingredient scrap and bad batches because of the increased accuracy in ingredient measuring and bar code verification of ingredients.

"The key benefit of using the FC6200 in a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility is improved Quality Control rather than an increased production throughput," Anderson said.

The ability to trace lot numbers of each ingredient for all batches is compliant with the Bioterrorism Act, Section 306 and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

"Since the FC6200 is an easy to use, stand-alone solution, it's a perfect compliment to an existing pharmaceutical manufacturing process," Doran Scales president Mark Podl told US-PharmaTechnologist.com.

"The main benefit of the FC6200 is to minimize human error without the complication of a system that tightly integrates with the plant's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system or the high cost of a site analysis."

Mettler Toledo's FormWeigh.net is currently marketed and has similar elements incorporated in its design, though it involves a site analysis.