Isopak is targeting the herbal and natural remedy sectors with its semi automatic capsule-filling machine that is specially designed to deal with non-lubricated substances
Most existing capsule fillers cannot process sticky or dry ingredients usually found in natural medicines, but the Minicap 100, manufactured by Dott Bonapace, can handle difficult products such as herbs, spices, homeopathic and alternative remedies.
It is an economical yet highly versatile machine intended for clinical trials, and drug or product development work.
Existing customers include a leading UK based alternative treatment centre that installed a Minicap 100 to enable pharmacies to make up herbal prescriptions in store.
Another company is filling copper sulphate crystals into large capsules for sheep with copper deficiencies.
Two additional companies manufacture herbal and spice based capsules with their Minicap 100.
And finally, an ethical pharmaceutical company is carrying out drug development and clinical trials on its Minicap 100.
Said to be ideal for hospitals, pharmacies, research laboratories and quality control departments, the Minicap 100 utilises a 100-hole tray and has an hourly output of up to 2500 capsules, depending on the application.
In addition to the Minicap 100, Isopak also supply a number of other Dott Bonapace capsule processing machines designed to suit various applications.
These include two capsule inserters and two complementary filling machines.
The semi automatic AB/47 capsule inserter feeds 150 capsules per cycle at a top speed of 4000 per hour, which is ideal for small scale development or trial purposes.
And the AB1/S, designed for those requiring a high output, is an automatic capsule inserter that feeds up to 300 capsules per cycle at an hourly rate of 14,000.
Additional filling machines include the semi-automatic BB3/S, which processes up to 8000 capsules per hour and the pneumatic BB2000, which automatically produces 14,000 capsules per hour.
Managing director of Isopak, Robin Davies, commented on the company's move into the herbal and natural remedy sectors: "The alternative treatment market is continuing to grow, so more and more companies are looking for capsule filling solutions, specific to their application.
"And the Minicap 100 is the only machine available that offers high versatility at a low price, and one of the few capsule fillers that can process natural substances.
"Consequently I anticipate a lot of interest in the Minicap 100 among herbal capsule manufacturers."
