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Informex Adds Process Engineering Component to Educational Program
Consultants from Scientific Update to Host Roundtable Discussions

06 Oct 2008 - Informex announced that Scientific Update, LLP, a provider of educational meetings to the organic chemical processing industry, will host the Networking Roundtables at InformexUSA inSan Francisco, California. Discussions will focus on the challenges of manufacturing organic chemicals in a commercial environment and the construction of "Road Maps" that can help R&D and chemical process teams to conduct research more efficiently, improve upon established chemical production processes and enhance profitability. Registered attendees may join the Networking Roundtables free of charge, at the Moscone South Convention Center.
 
According to Jennifer Jessup, Event Director, the Networking Roundtables at InformexUSA offer chemists in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and fine chemical industries an unprecedented opportunity to learn about some of the innovative techniques that lead to more profitable manufacturing operations. "If you're involved in transferring organic chemical processes from the laboratory to the plant, or between plants, then you will find the Networking Roundtables as a breath of fresh air," she said. "If you're trying to decide if it makes sense to invest in new route process research, then the Networking Roundtable is a perfect setting to test your thinking with peers. If you want to improve an established chemical process for maximum return-on-investment, then you will want to hear some of the case studies that look at leading process chemistry strategies," she said.
 
Best Manufacturing Strategies
 
Three brief presentations center on the need for technical professionals to continually raise the bar in scale-up, process research and return-on-investment. The first session, called Scale-up: What Goes Wrong will show some of the typical failings in organic chemical processes as they are scaled up and include examples of outstanding processes that come about with the right choice of solvents, and work-up processes. The second session, Increasing Efficiency in Chemical Process R&D offers R&D professionals a range of perspectives on how to best approach research and development projects, given the new technologies and automation that have become available in the past ten years. The third session, Maximizing Profits through Process Improvement, looks at efforts within the pharmaceutical industry to improve organic chemical processes after commercial start-up. Many companies take the opportunity to enhance processes approved by regulatory agencies, which are undoubtedly commercially viable, but which are not yet optimized for maximum commercial return.
 
According to John Knight, Scientific Director at Scientific Update, LLP, the need for best practices within the chemistry process departments of major manufacturers has never been greater because of the ever-diminishing time-line on new projects, and rising prices on starter chemicals. "A number of market forces within the manufacturing arena are adding to the already full workloads of process chemistry professionals and R&D chemists everywhere," he said. "The Networking Roundtables at InformexUSA offer chemists with similar challenges an opportunity to learn about what others are doing, and at the same time, participate in discussions that lead to insights not readily available in technical journals," he said.