ABB India has secured a major automation contract from Reliance Life Sciences (RLS) to automate their upcoming manufacturing plants in Nashik, Maharashtra. RLS, with its expansive 160-acre facility in Nashik, will house manufacturing plants dedicated to plasma proteins, biopharmaceuticals, oncology pharmaceuticals, and vaccines.
Large-scale biotechnology production poses intricate process and automation challenges. These processes must adhere to stringent regulatory standards to ensure top-notch product quality. ABB’s System 800xA® solution plays a pivotal role in reducing manufacturing errors and guaranteeing high-quality yields. The solution seamlessly interfaces with various skid systems and is extensively used for smooth operator interaction, batch control, and real-time production information on the factory floor.
G. Balaji, Senior Vice President and Head of Energy Industries, ABB India, commented, “Our collaboration with Reliance Life Sciences on this critical project reinforces our standing in the pharma and life sciences sector. The adoption of automation in these segments is pivotal for large-scale production with quality assurance, aligning well with India’s emergence as a biopharmaceutical manufacturing hub.”
KV Subramaniam, President, Reliance Life Sciences, highlighted the company’s history of leveraging automation technologies for enhanced quality and productivity. He emphasized that the partnership with ABB signifies a progression in terms of virtualization and process control.
Incorporating System 800xA, ABB’s solution will be implemented in a virtualized environment for RLS, delivering cost and operational benefits through streamlined server management. ABB’s multichannel remote I/O solutions will optimize data communication, minimizing wiring complexity and enhancing hardware space utilization. Complying with US FDA 21 CFR Part 11 standards, the DCS installation for the pharmaceutical unit ensures the highest regulatory compliance.
The DCS will be deployed on the latest Windows Server 2022 platform, ensuring extended lifecycle support and efficient software management. This eliminates the need for plant shutdowns during software upgrades, contributing to reduced downtime-associated costs. The integration capabilities of System 800xA® streamline operations by eliminating the need for multiple PLCs, leading to a unified audit trail, integrated data reports, and simplified third-party audits.
In addition to the DCS, RLS will adopt ABB’s modular remote I/O solution, enhancing flexibility and scalability for future expansion. As Reliance Life Sciences endeavors to upscale its manufacturing capabilities, the partnership with ABB aligns with its mission to produce high-quality biosimilars at an affordable cost.
