October 21-23 2019 saw the 11th Edition of the Continuous Flow Reactor Technology (CFRT) for Industrial Applications Symposium take place in Glasgow.  Held at the Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC), University of Strathclyde, the event combined a one-day hands-on training with a two-day Symposium & Exhibition.

Day One - Training

The training course was led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Heidrun Gruber-Woelfler from Graz University of Technology & focussed on the theory of both upstream & downstream continuous flow techniques.  The hands-on training was led by Dr. Thomas McGlone, Technical Operations Manager at the CMAC National Facility, giving attendees the opportunity to see four different demonstrations, three focussing on flow chemistry, separations & PAT, one showcasing work-up, crystallisation & filtration:

1.  Chemtrix BV & Mettler Toledo

2.  Corning & Zaiput Flow Technologies

3.  Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik

4.  CMAC

Attendee’s found it valuable to see the practical side of the technology in an interactive format!

Day Two & Three - Symposium / Exhibition

The Symposium showcased numerous industrial developments from Asymchem, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Servier, GSK & Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, demonstrating significant progress in industrial applications of continuous flow reactor technology.  Keynotes from Prof. Timothy F. Jamison & Prof. Timothy Noel focussed on ‘On-demand Synthesis & Innovations in Flow’ – highlighting a growing academic interest in the field.  The take-home messages of the Symposium were around the use of flow technology to reduce safety concerns, control reactions that are difficult to implement in batch (i.e. photochemistry, highly energetic & cryogenic reactions) & to increase revenue via process intensification.

An interactive Roundtable discussion on ‘Time to Market’ covered questions on how to increase productivity in order to reduce development costs & put new therapies into the market more rapidly. Moderated by Craig Johnston, former director of CMAC & co-founder of 3F Bio, the take home message was that Companies (reactors, auxiliaries, models, CMOs, Pharma) need to collaborate to implement this technology for the sake of the Consumer / Patient.

Compared to previous events, there was an obvious increase in collaborations taking place within the market, with many companies giving joint presentations.  Learn more about our collaboration with Partner Flowid BV by downloading our presentation ‘Commercialisation of Process Intensification - Bridging the Chemist & Engineer Divide!’.

Combining, training with up to the minute Case Studies was a hit with attendees.  A networking event at the Clydeside Distillery also gave the opportunity to meet & network more informally – sharing experiences of both successes & failures!  We are already looking forward to the announcement of the 12th Edition & learning more on the Industrial progress made in CFRT!