Blow-Fill-Seal, also known as “BFS,” is an automated process for aseptically filling sterile liquids with little or no human intervention.
This series of videos will focus on using BFS technology in the pharmaceutical industry. BFS is also used worldwide in many other industries such as food and beverage, cosmetics and more.
Packaging sterile pharmaceutical liquids using conventional technology requires several components with potentially long supply chains and multiple machines to complete the process.
BFS overcomes this complicated multi-machine process by extruding the container material, forming, filling, and hermetically sealing the container within a single machine in 3 – 15 seconds depending on the machine type. A final inspection is then performed, with the final product being an aseptically filled sterile container that is ready to be packaged and shipped.
The type of pharmaceutical-grade resin most often used in BFS is either low-density polyethylene, or in products that require terminal sterilization, polypropylene.
In the pharmaceutical industry, BFS packaging is seen as an alternative to traditional glass vials and ampoules. And ApiJect is helping to make BFS an alternative to traditional technology for prefilled syringes as well.
One of the opportunities with BFS is to replace pre-formed plastic and glass bottles that are made in a different location from the point of filling. This removes the need for expensive bottles and caps. It also converts the presentation to unit dose. This often enables preservatives to be removed from the formulation and greatly increases dose filling accuracy if a secondary syringe is used.
