Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Enroll in educational courses that offer information discussing pharmaceutical lab supplies

Many courses teach students about various aspects in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Check with local schools to discover if these courses are available. If they don't offer such courses, some institutes offer courses online. This may be one option for your pharmaceutical lab team.

I recommend: Pharma Bioserv offers a variety of courses pertaining to pharmaceuticals. Some of the training courses deal with laboratory equipment used in pharmaceuticals. Laboratory Equipment has a short course offered in Las Vegas that gives students information about pharmaceutical laboratory equipment.

Attend seminars for updated news and trends about pharmaceutical laboratory equipment

Seminars are another way that pharmaceutical lab teams learn about upcoming products and pharma lab equipments use. Seminars often feature particular aspects of an industry. Expert professionals conduct these seminars and offer tips and suggestions. You can attend seminars live on location and via the Internet.

I recommend: Lab Compliance conducts an online seminar discussing pharmaceutical laboratory equipment inspections. Pharmi Web also has a live web seminar that gives information about lab instruments and equipment.

Subscribe to professional magazines that feature articles about pharmaceutical laboratory supplies

Professional magazines are a great way to stay up-to-date on lab equipments for pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical magazines often print articles that discuss new equipment and products for labs. These magazines also list upcoming seminars and courses for teams.

I recommend: Subscribe to Lab Manager to learn more about pharmaceutical laboratory equipment. Medical Laboratory Observer magazine is another periodical that is good for pharmaceutical lab employees. It gives an introduction to the newest products for a lab.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When considering pharmaceutical lab equipment education and training, research the types of clothing and equipment used by the technicians. In most cases, technicians wear a form of sterilized covering to product the pharmaceutical. This equipment is also important when working in a pharmaceutical lab.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Work with dependable pharmaceutical equipment manufacturers

Trained technicians keep pharmaceutical laboratory equipment performing with precision. Explore companies that sell biopharmaceutical equipment that operates accurately to give you and your research team reliable results.

I recommend: Access an extensive array of new lab equipment and supplies through Best Lab Deals, Inc. The company also offers surplus lab supplies, used lab equipment, health care equipment and laboratory safety supplies. Best Lab Deals provides repair and maintenance plus a full-service calibration department with on-site and in-house service. Consider Tovatech LLC for in-house demonstration of their pharmaceutical laboratory equipment. Their management team includes scientists with comprehensive experience in managing and developing high-tech and technology-based businesses.

Buy used and discount lab equipment to keep instrument purchasing costs down

Lower costs related to running your lab and purchase discount or refurbished laboratory equipment. Before buying discount lab equipment, ask about leasing or renting the pharmaceutical lab supplies and equipment. Some pharmaceutical laboratory equipment sales departments offer long and short-term instrument rental.

I recommend: Analytical Instrument Recycle, Inc. not only sells, leases and rents top-grade used pharmaceutical lab equipment, but they also put their products under an eight-step process that includes a total equipment disconnection for intense cleaning purposes and inspection for flaws. Get in touch with Pace Analytical Services, Inc. to buy top-quality, used lab equipment. The company provides installation and their equipment meets or exceeds OEM standards.

Join forces with industry-specific suppliers of lab equipments for the pharmaceutical industry

Gain pharma-lab equipment such as encapsulating machines from companies that provide state-of-the-art instruments and partnerships with pharmaceutical companies. Notify the Drug Enforcement Administration of your encapsulation machine purchase. Prepare to give them general information such as your company's tax ID number, address, fax and phone numbers and purchased equipment model and serial number.

I recommend: Speak to Equipnet, a business that provides new and used pharmaceutical equipment including encapsulating machines. Much of the supply represents surplus machines from pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Wyeth. Make an offer on the machine after reviewing the listed price and after careful review of the product description. In addition, look into Capsugel, a company that offers capsule-filling machines with secure, impermeable seals that exclude the need for banding capsules.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Ask about an operating lease and a capital lease when leasing pharmaceutical laboratory supplies and equipment. A capital lease gives you ownership of the instruments when the lease ends and provides you with depreciation tax benefits. The operating lease on the other hand, gives you the lowest monthly payments.

Guide to Pharmaceutical Lab Equipment Key Terms

Learn the different types of tools used in today's pharmaceutical labs

By M. Krasniak, Freelance Writer/Editor

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Capsule sealing

Filling and sealing equipment fills those medications that come in capsule form. These pieces fill the drug capsules with either powder or liquid forms of drugs and then seal them with either bands or microspray technology.

I recommend: Through explanations of some of its products, Capsugel explains the purpose of filling and sealing equipment found in many pharmaceutical labs.

Sterilizer

Sterilizers clean and decontaminate laboratory equipment and utensils. This can be done with steam or dry heat. An autoclave is a common type of sterilizer used by many pharmaceutical labs and medical facilities.

I recommend: Kendell Corporation explains of what sterilizers do and features some of its products that will help you achieve this.

Microscopes

Microscopes are pieces of pharmaceutical lab equipment used to magnify objects you can't see with the naked eye. There are many types of microscopes, and some used in pharmaceutical labs are powerful enough to magnify the components of drugs down to the molecular level.

I recommend: This entry on wiseGEEK gives plenty of detailed information on the different types of microscopes used in science.

Mass spectrometer

A mass spectrometer measures the characteristics of individual molecules. This comes in handy in a pharmaceutical lab because often, new drugs come from the combination of many different substances. It is important to be able to break the chemical composition of these drugs down so companies can develop and record the exact formulas.

I recommend: This page on the Michigan State University website delves deeply in to the definition and uses of mass spectrometers.

Laboratory centrifuges

When a lab wants to separate the different substances in a compound, it uses laboratory centrifuges. This is an important piece of pharmaceutical lab equipment since medications are often a combination of different ingredients. Centrifuges spin liquids at a high rate of speed, causing particles of different densities to separate.

I recommend: Medical Supplies & Equipment Company will teach you about centrifuges and the importance of having the right speed for your applications.

Pill counter

After the drugs have been developed and sealed in their capsules, the pill counter comes into play. This tool uses weight and mass measurements based on specific drug information that you enter to gauge how many pills are on the trays. Some machines even dispense the medication into the proper bottles automatically.

I recommend: Check out Rx Count Corporation when you want to learn all about pill counters.