Pharmapack Europe: Bormioli Pharma to showcase “greener” drug therapy with digital traceability

25 Jan 2023 --- Bormioli Pharma is unveiling its nebulizer for ophthalmic drugs, OptiMist, that administers therapies, minimizes waste and makes delivery more accessible and controllable through an app installed on smartphones at Pharmapack Europe in Paris, France. 

The company will present the prototypes to the market, addressing the growing requests for connectivity, traceability and patient adherence. The prototype was conceived from an open innovation process aimed at intercepting and addressing emerging patients’ needs.

Bormioli will also showcase an Internet of Things (IoT), smart-controlled MediClicker allowing easy pill dosing, and a traceability, multi-technology solution dubbed Trax capable of storing information along the supply chain and readable both by industrial systems and consumer devices.

Nebulizer for ophthalmic medicine administration. “I believe that three keywords lead the pharma packaging future: flexibility, innovation and [environmental] sustainability. Particularly, sustainability is a key pillar that inspires, together with innovations, not just our solutions, but also our supply chain evolution,” Andrea Sentimenti, marketing and innovation director of Bormioli Pharma, tells PackagingInsights.

“At Pharmapack 2023, we will showcase our most recent developments addressing these challenges, supporting with effective solutions our mission: making health a positive practice, accessible to everyone and kind to the planet,” adds Andrea Lodetti, CEO of Bormioli Pharma. 

The three R’s
The OptiMist is “connected to an app, which remotely controls the medicine administration and optimizes the therapy management. It is also smart because it is able to intercept ambient feedback, such as humidity and temperature, to improve patient awareness and adapt the treatment accordingly,” says Sentimenti. 

Bormioli’s products to be presented are suitable for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and food supplement uses – the range includes three different lines of low-impact packaging solutions based on three different ecological strategies:

• Regenerate: glass and plastic packaging recycled from first-choice waste collection. 
• Renew: bioplastic packaging derived from renewable sources.
• Reloop: glass and advanced polymer products made from infinitely reusable materials.

The company calls these terms, EcoPositive. It says these words are the three drivers that are “defining the Group’s mid-long strategy in terms of product [environmental] sustainability.”

Bormioli continues by saying it implements a two-way methodology to enforce greener solutions in pharma packaging based on data and innovation research to anticipate future trends and evolutions. 

“EcoPositive is, therefore, the range gathering together all the sustainable solutions developed by the group, starting from recycled plastic and glass containers, up to bioplastic packaging and advanced solutions coming from the recovery and the transformation of waste element, such as Type I glass cullet and highest quality plastics from a separate collection,” tells Sentimenti. The pharmaceutical industry continues to implement technology into its products and packaging. 

On the final day of Pharmapack Europe, Bormioli will also hold a learning lab led by Roberto Valenti, head of materials development in the company.

Pharma packaging trends 
Observed trends in the pharmaceutical industry are introducing software and environmental solutions into its packaging. “IoT and [environmental] sustainability are playing an increasingly key role in healthcare, changing the way we will look at pharma packaging in a few years from now,” continues Lodetti. 

“The industry is facing a tremendous wave of innovation as well as challenging supply chain issues; our primary packaging solutions and our innovation pipeline would definitely support the pharma industry in meeting their innovation and sustainability goals and minimizing the constraints they are currently facing,” concludes Sentimenti.

Last month, in green pharmaceutical solutions, PulPac developed a Blister Pack Collective to reduce manufacturing rates and limit non-recyclable plastics’ use in over-the-counter and prescription drug packaging. 

As of late, IoT technology has been implemented to combat counterfeit medicine. Antares Vision implemented Edgyn’s Adfirmia solution to its cloud and mobile applications, providing customers with “exemplary” authentication capabilities in addition to its existing traceability software. 

Similarly, Identiv, a global digital security and identification company in the IoT, and TrueGreen, a cannabis technology company specializing in digitizing packaging, have announced the “world’s first” smart tamper seal for managing inventory. 

Safety challenges 
The pharmaceutical industry is responsible for 300 million metric tons of plastic waste each year, of which 50%is single-use, according to a report published in the European Pharmaceutical Review. 

However, creating more eco-conscious solutions is challenging in the pharma industry due to its high-importance function. The packaging has to protect against external factors like humidity, temperature, light, oxygen and other contaminants – to preserve product integrity and function – but it also plays a significant role in protecting people.

By Sabine Waldeck

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