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Together – for Quality of Life
Exclusive Interview with Sven Hems, Global Sales Manager at Fette Compacting

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Sven Hems, Global Sales Manager for Continuous Manufacturing at Fette Compacting, presented continuous manufacturing at the 14th PHARM Connect Congress, which once again brought together pharmaceutical and biotech leaders from the Central and Eastern European region on 5 - 6 March 2025 in Budapest. Fette Compacting, a member of the LMT Group, is a medium-sized, family-owned company with a significant role in developing and manufacturing various production equipment. With more than 1,800 employees and over 20 sites worldwide, the company continues to be a key player in the industry.

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  What changes and innovations have taken place in recent years?

Sven Hems  "Fette Compacting provides integrated solutions for industrial tablet production, specializing in high-performance machines for the pharmaceutical, food, and chemical industries. With more than 6,000 machines installed, Fette Compacting is the global market leader in pharmaceutical tablet manufacturing equipment. Our latest innovations include the recently introduced P Series, the new iSeries, and, of course, the FE CPS (Continuous Processing System) for CDC applications. With our Emulator Series and embedded Process Analysis Technology (ePAT), we support our new approach, "Together – from Lab to Production." This means our services now span from process development and control strategy to technology transfer and optimized manufacturing."

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  What does it mean that Fette Compacting offers future-proof solutions?

Sven Hems  "Together – from Lab to Production" is not just a slogan; we see great potential in closer and earlier collaboration between traditional machine manufacturers and customers. Through our global competence network, we support our partners' ambitions with expert consultancy and highly qualified specialists. Customers and regulatory authorities are increasingly demanding high levels of automation. Beyond simply increasing production rates, safety considerations are also key—minimizing human interaction with machinery during setup, operation, and maintenance is a major priority."

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  The company operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. Which markets do you consider the most dynamic, and how do you adapt your strategy to them?

Sven Hems  "The world is constantly evolving, but certain trends have emerged in recent years. Since our clients’ strategies vary widely, we tailor our approach accordingly. The U.S. remains the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. However, India and China continue to experience rapid growth. Looking ahead, I see Africa as a key emerging market. Many major players are dealing with aging equipment. Some opt for large-scale fleet replacements, standardizing their machinery across multiple sites, while others focus on incremental upgrades. Given the market’s dynamism, there is strong demand for customized strategies, including consultancy, training, and technical field services."

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   In your presentation, you discussed increasing efficiency through modularity and standardization in continuous manufacturing. How do you assess the industry's openness to this, and how do regulatory authorities view continuous manufacturing?

Sven Hems  "In the past, challenges such as highly customized equipment, complexity, limited scalability, and intensive clean-up requirements created barriers to continuous manufacturing. Operating such systems requires highly skilled personnel, and demand for these experts remains high.

Fette Compacting has redefined the Continuous Direct Compression (CDC) approach with the innovative FE CPS system. In my presentation, I outlined seven key features designed to overcome these obstacles. Regulatory bodies like the EMA and FDA have responded very positively.

Additionally, our competence centers are equipped with state-of-the-art machines and analytical tools, including emulators and laboratory analytics. Unlike traditional simulation methods, we emulate real components in a smaller facility, allowing for seamless scaling and reduced time-to-market. Our global presence ensures that local experts can communicate in native languages without time lags. Furthermore, we collect comprehensive data from trials, installations, and customer interactions in our QED (Qualified Expert Database). This data-driven approach helps us optimize solutions for each customer. While AI presents challenges in pharmaceutical manufacturing, we do not use it at the operational level. Instead, we leverage VR technology for training, preventing unnecessary occupation of actual production machines."

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  What do you see as the biggest growth opportunity in the coming years?

Sven Hems  "Continuous manufacturing and storage applications offer significant potential, particularly due to strong regulatory support for enhanced product quality and the growing demand for high-potency active ingredients—notably in oncology and precision medicine. Furthermore, global access to medicines is increasing, especially in developing countries. Ensuring adequate production capacity is already a key consideration in equipment design and selection. To meet this demand, we focus on standardized yet customizable solutions for high-volume production, ensuring that essential medicines are available anytime, anywhere. Beyond pharmaceuticals, we also observe a growing demand for nutritional supplements."

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  What do you see as the biggest challenge for Fette Compacting in the coming years?

Sven Hems  "The pharmaceutical regulatory environment is inherently conservative and resistant to change. Recognizing this, we began engaging more closely with regulatory authorities years ago, ensuring ongoing dialogue about new developments. Aside from evolving regulatory requirements, industry dynamics and cost pressures remain key challenges. As mentioned earlier, our goal is to evolve from a machine manufacturer into a full-fledged process technology provider, specializing in powder formulation and tableting."

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Karacs Alexandra, NEW Technology Magazin

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We are passionate about bringing together annually the best representatives and innovators of the pharmaceutical industry to create a valuable and engaged professional network in Central and Eastern Europe. If you think your solution is cutting-edge and should be recognized by the industry, put your business in the spotlight by presenting your solution at the upcoming Congress!

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