If we used a time machine to transport a pharmaceutical scientist from the 1960s into a current pharmaceutical production plant, it might be surprising to learn that he would already be familiar with most of the processes and production techniques being used. That’s because not much has changed in pharmaceutical production during the last 50 or so years.

For decades, most drugs have been manufactured using what is known as “batch” technology”—a process whereby the ultimate finished product has been made after many stops and starts in a series of steps. Unfortunately, each break in the process causes inefficiency and delay, as well as the increased possibility of defects and errors.

Today, continuous manufacturing enables much faster production and more reliable products through an uninterrupted process. How much faster is continuous manufacturing? In some cases, manufacturing that takes a month by batch technology might take only a day using continuous manufacturing techniques.

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