How Are Pills Made?
The correct pharmaceutical designation of most drugs manufactured today is not "pills", but rather "tablets".
Tablets start with a homogenous mixture, compressed in a mould. The European pharmacopoeia, helps ensure that the quantity of active ingredients in all the tablets of a pill bottle is highly similar. In practice, it is not possible to include the exact same quantity of the drug in all tablets. Two important tests are made to make sure that the difference is as slight as possible.
TESTS ENSURE EVEN DRUG DISTRIBUTION
Random check: 10 tablets are selected from a new batch. If the contents of all 10 tablets deviate less than 15 % from the average, the batch can be approved.
Weighing: 20 tablets are weighted separately. No more than two of the tablets can weigh 10 % more than the average of all 20 tablets.