Five Things To Consider Before Purchasing Used Or Refurbished Solid Dosage Processing Equipment

Pharmaceutical companies sometimes choose to buy equipment second-hand, either from another pharmaceutical company or directly from the manufacturer of the equipment. While there exists a large and diverse market for used equipment, there are many things to consider before purchasing any used or refurbished system for processing pharmaceuticals. For example, while refurbished systems are often available at substantially lower prices than new ones, there may be defects that have gone undetected which will require repair. Additional overhead and maintenance requirements to get a refurbished machine running– like software upgrades, tracking down replacement components, system installation, integration with your existing process, possible re-validation procedures, etc.– can greatly increase the system’s total cost. Those who work for small R&D companies and start-ups often have trouble securing the necessary funding for a brand new machine and have little room for error when it comes to making large purchases, but it can be difficult to tell which systems will ultimately be worth the investment.