Development in packaging are essentially synonym between products, materials and machineries besides considering the supply chain requirements. Each of them supplement and complement each other in the total network. No package is thus complete unless it integrates with all activities within the organisation and those external to the organisation. Both package conversion and packaging line operations are influenced by the product requirements and market demands. Technology levels could vary. Having seized of the situation and opportunities available the industries globally have shifted gear towards newer technologies, concepts and materials. The goal is creative packaging solutions. The industry also have found solutions in material combinations and process variations that have resulted in packaging systems better suited to optimisation of handling, storage and distribution practices. Such developments have added to the choices to meet varying market segments. Secure packaging with high productivity and extended versatility are the technology endeavors today.
The pharma industry is now faced with new markets needs. Sensitive products require more robust packages. Falsification need to be prevented with special seals and codes. Additional package features are necessary even for self medication. The pharma companies and the packaging sector are faced with huge challenges, particularly when the medicinal products are still dominated by highly branded ones. Under the new EU Anti-falsification directive, virtually all prescription medicines will have to be provided, as of 2017, with a unique code number and feature showing that the outer package has not been tampered with. Spurious products are becoming a growing menace for patients. World Health Organisation study places the falsification rate among medicines sold via dubious websites at 50 per cent. The pressure to cut costs by the pharmaceutical industry also increasingly becomes an onus on the packaging sector making it more tough both in terms of innovation and boost efficiency.
There has been constant endeavors by the packaging and pharma sectors in the material development and machinery areas. The situation however demands a complete review in every line of activity including coding and marking. Some of these are already in process and should be interesting. Peel and pour solutions developed offer an excellent solution. The medical pack and bottle closure with built-in spout reduces the stress and mess out of packs for every different consumer. The closure is a combination of plastic and aluminium and proved very effective and useful with benefits for the consumer. The closure is very easy to open and reseal. The inbuilt drip recovery system stops unwanted drips with an original flow cut off concept and also ensures the pourer stays clean and hygienic during use. Yet another development is a peelable lid blister pack consisting of lidding foil and a cold formed bottom web with improved openability and product protection. The system enables medication to prevent nausea and vomiting. The totally alu.foil pack provides complete barrier protection as well as making it easier to handle. Some biomolecules readily decompose while others are highly aggressive and attack the surfaces of primary packages. Containers with improved barrier properties and enhanced impact resistance are thus required to effectively protect the bio substances. Modified process conditions capable of precisely dosing even the minute active substance is the result of development efforts.
There is a growing patient demand in self medication. Injections normally administered by doctors now get shifted to self administration. To prevent injury inbuilt safety needles retract immediately after injection. This is an indication of more versatile development. Yet another development in process is an intelligent package designed to communicate between patients and doctors. The package records precisely when a tablet is removed. If the doctor’s prescription is not observed the patient receives a wireless reminder-relayed to a mobile phone, for e.g. such consumer friendly solutions demand a difficult balancing act from pharmaceutical manufacturers. They have to integrate additional features, besides keeping the cost under control.
Multilayer plastic bottles are explored as alternate to glass vials. Some polymers such as polyolefins are transparent like glass but protect biopharmaceuticals even better as their surface cannot be attacked by alkaline liquid medicines. They also contain virtually no organic substances that might enrich bio-substances. The constraint ,however, is that they are relatively expensive and hence some hesitation in commercialisation. In the field of glass, a leading glass manufacturer has developed special glass vials for biomedicines with a super thin line of silicone di oxide on the inside. The process involves use of chemical vapour deposition in which after the reaction of a precursor gas with oxygen at high temperatures, silicone molecules are deposited on the glass wall. The layer prevents protein interactions with the package surface and protein absorption ensuring product stability.
Towards spurious product identification a number efforts are progressed. One such development is in the field of bar codes, alphanumeric series and data matrix codes for folded boxes and labels for the serial coding of packaging materials/packages. The serial product information helps to trace the medicines back to the manufacturer. Inkjet technology is adopted to print the packages. There will be a growing demand for such identification solutions. A pharma distribution need to establish a system based on data matrix codes to guard against spurious products and the system is envisaged to be in place by 2017. The concept is to make each package a one off by printing it with a square data matrix code containing a unique number. All the awarded numbers are stored in a shared manufacturer data base. The chemist scans the code on each package and checks at the time of sale. This enables to easily identify the spurious ones.
Referring to ecofriendly packaging , efforts are on to develop sustainable, active and intelligent packaging to produce films, trays and pouches. Tailored packaging functionalities could be obtained by flexible in line surface treatment to control gas barrier properties and to introduce anti-microbial activity. The polymer blending and compounding technologies also aim to produce grades suited for injection moulding, extrusion film blowing and thermoforming. Biobased products that could withstand boiling temperature without de-shaping, losing functionality and efficiency provide excellent environmental advantages. They also find applications in medical device packaging.
Label printing is yet another segment that has witnessed revolutionary changes. The cross section of developments would include-small Direct Thermal Label and receipt printers, Direct Thermal Wristband printers, Low cost direct Thermal Desktop solutions, Ribbon Thermal Transfer Desktop printer, High performance small footprint Thermal Transfer desktop, Reliable Mobile Label printers.
New concepts
A touch bag concept with embossed logo highlights the brand. Fillers further reinforces the brand on packaging and conveys through print with an emotional touch. New and updated inspection system enhances a company to develop comprehensive technologies and enables to evaluate foreign bodies, missing components, check seal integrity, measure quantity and fill levels enhancing manufacturers quality, safety besides improving productivity. In the area of thermal printers, equipment designed enable highly customised and optimised performance in a wide variety of industrial environment. They include colour touch screens features with user friendly graphical interfaces for convenient multicolour/printer operations.
The industry today looks to shrink their carbon footprint and insist on sustainable packaging with minimum resource inputs. The packages need to protect the products using less material meaning reduced space utilisation. At the same time the containers need to be identifiable so as to be amenable to different logistics systems. Coding becomes extremely significant particularly with reference to traceability of the product over the entire distribution chain. Novel in-mould labelling technology is making rapid inroads. The packaging industry is also faced with the demand for volume reduced containers, stackable/nesting containers and returnable/reusable containers. The search is not on for a universal solution for multiway packages but solutions geared to specific industries and customers. The further demand on the machinery manufacturers is to deal with smaller batches, more frequent product changes and a large number of product variants besides versatility to use multi types of packaging media. Quick response time and just-in-time provide a higher advantage for the machine manufacturers and users. The versatility factor need to address to cater to differing application requirements, maximum inter changeability and modularity. Eco-friendliness, reduced noise pollution, low wear and tear, reliability and ease in change over besides ergonomic friendliness are other major influencing and challenging factors. In essence the designs need to be fascinating, improve quality standards and both innovative and beneficial.
All the endeavors and developments are envisaged to raise the bar of pharma packaging not only in the material and machinery sectors but also along all major activities.
(The author is Secretary General of IPMMI and Chief executive of IFCA)