Experts for
Development and Manufacturing
of Solid Dosage Forms
Sparring partners, consultants at every stage of the development and process
The team at Solids Development – your dedicated problem-solver for seamless formulation and process development.
Our team stands out for its expertise, commitment, and high service standards, aiming to drive your projects forward successfully.
As problem-solvers, we are at your side, ensuring a smooth formulation and process development.
We are specialized to master any challenge together with you, finding solutions for any issues with respect to manufacturing of tablets or granules – be it in formulation development, transfer, scale-up, or tableting.
Our trainings provides the opportunity to get to know the Solids Development team. Here, you will gain firsthand, profound knowledge and qualified assistance for your projects. We always strive to offer you the best support and achieve your goals.
We implement your development successfully. At every stage of development, we are your sparring partner/advisor.
We look forward to hearing from you, to provide further information and kickstart our collaboration on your projects.
Our Team
Extensive experience, expertise, enthusiasm, curiosity, problem-solvers, detail-oriented, solution-thinkers, tinkerers, solution-finders, persistent, ambitious, ...
Dr. Barbara Fretter
Founder and Managing Partner
Our solid dosage luminary and creative troubleshooter: After her graduation as pharmacist and dissertation in pharmaceutical technology, Barbara Fretter joined the University of Bonn as postdoc in 2007. Her research included instrumentation for tableting presses and powder deformation behavior. During that time, she was also in charge of industrial third-party funded projects. In 2014, she founded the company Solids Development together with Rob Lammens. Since then, she has helped many customers to get their formulations off the ground. Since 2018, Barbara has shared the company‘s ownership with Maarten Lammens.
Dr. Philipp Kiefer
Lab Manager
Our perfect match from the University of Düsseldorf: After studying pharmacy and obtaining his license as pharmacist, Philipp Kiefer completed his PhD in pharmaceutical technology with a focus on wet extrusion at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Philipp already has extensive knowledge in the areas of manufacturing technologies, excipients, formulation development and continuous manufacturing. He joined our team in April 2022 and has taken on customer projects and support from day one. We are looking forward to the journey together.
Dr. Robert Lammens
Founder
Our most experienced problem solver and grandmaster in the lab: Dr. Rob (Robert Frank) Lammens has 40 years of experience in solid dosage forms. After earning his doctorate in Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Leiden (Netherlands), he worked for over 23 years at Bayer in Leverkusen. During this time, he became an absolute expert in measurement, instrumentation, and process technology for the production of solid dosage forms. From 2001 to 2014, alongside his independent consulting activities, he taught as a lecturer at the University of Bonn. In 2014, he co-founded Solids Development with Dr. Barbara Fretter. At the end of 2018, Rob Lammens transferred his business shares to Barbara Fretter and Maarten Lammens. Nevertheless, he remains with Solids Development with all his expertise and continues to take on ambitious projects, such as planning the OEB-5 technical center.
Dr. Barbara Fretter
Founder and Managing Partner
Our solid dosage luminary and creative troubleshooter: After her graduation as pharmacist and dissertation in pharmaceutical technology, Barbara Fretter joined the University of Bonn as postdoc in 2007. Her research included instrumentation for tableting presses and powder deformation behavior. During that time, she was also in charge of industrial third-party funded projects. In 2014, she founded the company Solids Development together with Rob Lammens. Since then, she has helped many customers to get their formulations off the ground. Since 2018, Barbara has shared the company‘s ownership with Maarten Lammens.
Dr. Philipp Kiefer
Lab Manager
Our perfect match from the University of Düsseldorf: After studying pharmacy and obtaining his license as pharmacist, Philipp Kiefer completed his PhD in pharmaceutical technology with a focus on wet extrusion at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Philipp already has extensive knowledge in the areas of manufacturing technologies, excipients, formulation development and continuous manufacturing. He joined our team in April 2022 and has taken on customer projects and support from day one. We are looking forward to the journey together.
Dr. Robert Lammens
Founder
Our most experienced problem solver and grandmaster in the lab: Dr. Rob (Robert Frank) Lammens has 40 years of experience in solid dosage forms. After earning his doctorate in Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Leiden (Netherlands), he worked for over 23 years at Bayer in Leverkusen. During this time, he became an absolute expert in measurement, instrumentation, and process technology for the production of solid dosage forms. From 2001 to 2014, alongside his independent consulting activities, he taught as a lecturer at the University of Bonn. In 2014, he co-founded Solids Development with Dr. Barbara Fretter. At the end of 2018, Rob Lammens transferred his business shares to Barbara Fretter and Maarten Lammens. Nevertheless, he remains with Solids Development with all his expertise and continues to take on ambitious projects, such as planning the OEB-5 technical center.
Maarten Lammens
Managing Partner
Our communicative strategist and multi-talent: Maarten Lammens strengthens our team since 2016. He entered the field of pharmaceutical technology coming from a different background. His studies of business informatics and his experience from having worked for a major consulting firm give him profound and broad knowledge with a focus on project and IT management. In addition, he completed an extraordinary and extensive training in pharmaceutical technology and came to be one of our company‘s PT specialists. Since 2018, Maarten has managed the company together with Barbara Fretter as managing director.
Maarten Lammens
Managing Partner
Our communicative strategist and multi-talent: Maarten Lammens strengthens our team since 2016. He entered the field of pharmaceutical technology coming from a different background. His studies of business informatics and his experience from having worked for a major consulting firm give him profound and broad knowledge with a focus on project and IT management. In addition, he completed an extraordinary and extensive training in pharmaceutical technology and came to be one of our company‘s PT specialists. Since 2018, Maarten has managed the company together with Barbara Fretter as managing director.
Peter Kraft
Operations Generalist
Our fearless handyman and tireless facility manager: Peter Kraft joined our team at the end of 2019. His key responsibilities are building services and maintenance. For example, Peter specifically constructed a hermetically sealed tent enabling us to successfully meet a client project‘s special requirement to indoor climate.
Peter Kraft
Operations Generalist
Our fearless handyman and tireless facility manager: Peter Kraft joined our team at the end of 2019. His key responsibilities are building services and maintenance. For example, Peter specifically constructed a hermetically sealed tent enabling us to successfully meet a client project‘s special requirement to indoor climate.
"Filling the gaps between powder and technology"
History and Expertise
We are experts in the development and manufacturing of solid dosage forms. Our comprehensive knowledge about granules, pharma, and technology combines solid scientific background with ample practical experience: We perform targeted trials in our tech center or at your location, always considering the practical feasibility in your production environment.
In the market for nearly 10 years – over 40 years of experience
Solids Development Consult was founded in 2014 by Dr. Barbara Fretter and Dr. Rob (Robert Frank) Lammens. The founders met during their time at the University of Bonn, where they worked on industrial third-party projects and conducted joint research. These projects were similar to the current projects of Solids Development. Even though the company is relatively young, we already have extensive experience in pharmaceutical technology. Dr. Rob Lammens has over 40 years of experience in pharmaceutical technology. Before becoming self-employed in this sector in 2004, he managed projects at Bayer AG for 23 years, aiming to enhance process understanding through machine and production line instrumentation. Barbara Fretter brings over 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical technology. In 2016, Maarten Lammens joined the management team. After completing his diploma in business informatics, he worked for a major IT and management consultancy before joining Solids Development.
Locations and Development
Solids Development's initial location was in Siegburg. Due to increasing space requirements and the planning of an OEB-5 lab, we moved to our current location in Leverkusen in 2018. This also marked Rob Lammens' return to his former "home port." At the end of 2018, Rob Lammens handed over operational management to Barbara Fretter and Maarten Lammens.
Our Mission
At Solids Development, our goal is to provide tailor-made solutions for your challenges and projects, based on our longstanding expertise in pharmaceutical technology. We understand the industry's complexity and work closely with you to achieve optimal results. This experience is transferable to other sectors like chemistry, food, dietary supplements, and cosmetics, where tablets and granules are concerned. How can we support you? Let's discuss. We look forward to your contact.
Your Advantage – Our Focus
Your Advantage – Our Focus
Formulation Development
Transfer & Scale Up
Production Optimization
Measurement & Process Engineering
Further Education
OEB-5 Technical Center
Benefit from Our Network
Our strong network of academic institutions, machinery manufacturers, and industry associations allows us to stay on top of technology and offer innovative solutions for our customers.
The Working Group for Pharmaceutical Process Engineering (APV)
Barbara Fretter and Rob Lammens, the founders of Solids Development, have been long-time members of the Working Group for Pharmaceutical Process Engineering (APV). They have organized several seminars with APV to share their knowledge and experience.
Collaboration with Academic Institutions
We are proud of our university roots and maintain close relationships with academic institutions nearby, including the University of Bonn, Cologne University of Applied Sciences, and RWTH Aachen. We give lectures at these institutions, offer practical exercises in our lab, and supervise doctoral, master's, or bachelor's theses focusing on pharmaceutical technology.
Partnerships with Machine Manufacturers
We collaborate closely with the machine manufacturers of the pharmaceutical industry to advance technologies and optimize manufacturing processes from a user's perspective. This collaboration enables us to offer our customers innovative solutions and increase efficiency in production.
Support and Certification
An example of our successful collaboration is our project to develop an in-line density measurement of ribbons on a roller compactor. This project is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy within the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM).
Furthermore, since 2018, we have been certified by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research as a pharmaceutical research organization (Organismes de recherche privés agreés). This certification was renewed for another three years in 2021, confirming our expertise and quality in pharmaceutical research.
Membership in the Federal Association of Small and Medium-sized Businesses Entrepreneur Association of Germany e. V. (BVMW)
Since 2021, Solids Development has been a proud member of the Federal Association of Small and Medium-sized Businesses Entrepreneur Association of Germany e. V. (BVMW). This membership emphasizes our role as a trusted partner in the SME sector and allows us to exchange ideas with other companies, growing and learning together.