Medical packaging: Meeting the double challenge for security and sustainability

Packaging for the medical products market presents unique challenges to the industry. Pharmaceutical safety, product quality and supply chain traceability must be maintained without compromise. At the same time, pressure is building for sustainability improvements. Businesses are now dealing with meeting these demands together. 

New legislation is coming into force in the US stipulating how drugs should be packaged, tracked and transported. The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), first approved in 2013, outlines steps to achieve an interoperable and electronic way to identify and trace certain prescription drugs through packaging. 

It is designed to allow the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to know where pharmaceutical products are at any time throughout the country. Next year, distributors, manufacturers and repackers will be obliged to abide by these regulations. 

Jeremy Coote, CEO of Antares Vision Group’s Rfxcl company, which specializes in supply chain traceability solutions, tells Packaging Insights that the law will help prevent harmful drugs from entering the US drug supply chain, detect these drugs and enable rapid response to remove them from the supply chain to protect patients. 

“The DSCSA will ensure the data collected on the lines is reflected in the software, so we properly understand that every product in the health supply chain is real,” he says. 

“There are many similar legislative programs around the world, and now, in the US, we’re close to realizing it. Our customers can be compliant and legally able to sell their pharmaceuticals in the marketplace, and they know products with their name on them are legitimate.” 

Meeting the double challenge

Christopher Dale, executive director of public relations for marketing agency Turchette, explains that the demand for sustainability improvements gives medical product packaging a new edge that the industry has not seen before. 

Schreiner MediPharm secures needles in needle sticks for protection (Image credit: Schreiner MediPharm).“Pharmaceutical Packaging has really come into its own in terms of the sustainability angle — it’s always going to be challenging for this sector to face the sustainability levels of the F&B or health and beauty sectors. You’re looking at very sensitive drugs, high potency ingredients and patient safety as a first consideration,” he says. 

“Other segments require high standards too of course, but it’s easier to get to sustainable substrates when you’re talking about a bag of potato chips or a bottle of Coca-Cola. I think what the market is doing at the moment is terrific.” 

“In the age of social media, there’s been a massive push for companies to drive their sustainability forward, to create new recycling streams — our recycling infrastructure in the US is far inferior to what you have in Europe, for example.”

But the double challenge of creating environmentally sustainable products without sacrificing quality is also driving innovation in a unique way, he says. 

“As we continue to push from the base up and from the top down with government regulations, it creates a situation where we’re putting a fair amount of pressure on the health care sector to create more sustainable solutions where the product quality is never compromised.” 

Inspection machines

Antares Vision Group was highlighting its latest machinery innovations for medical Packaging at this year’s PackExpo trade show in Chicago, US. 

“We have everything from line solutions serialization through to inspection systems that are looking for leaks and impurities and then across to the tracking technologies that can follow products from warehouse to store shelf,” Coote says. 

“We’re seeing a lot of excitement on inspection systems. One big thing for the next year is seeing that companies can track products securely.” 

Coote says the biggest problem for boosting the adoption of new inspection systems is cost.PulPac produces fiber-based blister packs for pills (Image credit: PulPac).

“These machines don’t come cheap, but there is general acceptance that to maintain parity, you need this level of security, and as soon as customers start to really understand about traceability and as soon as they see that you can, they can track back through the supply chain and prove authenticity in products, they’ll see that they have to do it.” 

Blister packs 

One area of innovation that has soared in recent years is the development of recyclable blister packages for pills. Traditionally made in PVC with metal lining, companies like PulPac in Sweden have been producing fiber-based alternatives that mean consumers do not have to separate them to add to recycling. 

Together with PA Consulting, the company launched the Blister Pack Collective, a collaboration designed to support the adoption of fiber-based blister packs. The collective utilizes Dry Molded Fiber (DMF) technology to develop blister packs that eliminate or minimize the use of plastics in over-the-counter prescription drugs and nutraceuticals.

DMF technology reduces the use of plastics and water, which cuts carbon emissions. The process is designed to be high speed and low cost, using a proprietary process to create highly versatile tablet arrays that match the pitch design and tablet count of commodity PVC, providing a like-for-like, scalable solution.

“The advent of recyclable blister packs, and blister packs that contain PCR, is huge,” says Dale. 

“Companies are doing good things with lightweighting, reducing water and energy usage, but from a materials science and design perspective, from a substrate standpoint, I think these blister packs — which both do their job and are recyclable, are highly encouraging.” 

Secure needles, electronic labels 

Christian Liebl, director of business development at Schreiner MediPharm, tells us that the company’s Needle Trap technology, which secures prefilled syringes, is a quick way of removing the need for excessive packaging and waste. 

“We’re focusing on self contained medications, you can see needles we have in needle sticks, which makes the needle protected and secure and you don;t need additional packaging.” 

The company’s electronic labels also answer the upcoming DSCSA rules. “We are the world’s leading producer of functional labels, which means we’re not only doing labels but labels that give companies assurance over product safety and origin,” he says. 

“We’re seeing a massive drive to meet 2030 climate objectives, which means a lot of change in the way packagers do things, and the challenge is now to make it as safe as possible. We can drastically reduce materials used by drug companies with proper sealing.” 

Liebl says regulations are helping the industry but companies are also making moves of their own accord. 

“Legislators are making a big difference to the industry, but the industry is also making big decisions by itself. Many companies are implementing climate targets without the need for government incentives or intervention.”

Meanwhile, Dale says these innovations, combined with moves in legislation and consumer demand, show a promising trajectory for a challenging area of the packaging industry. 

“Given the gauntlet that regulatory authorities are asking for and that consumers are asking for, I think the industry is doing a good job navigating the feasibility and innovation without sacrificing safety compliance and drug efficacy.” 

“It’s a success story in the making that doesn’t have a happy ending yet but it’s moving in that direction.”