Schreiner adds NFC security and grip support to weight-loss pen label

Schreiner MediPharm has developed a functional label for SHL Medical’s Quanta weight-loss pen that features a near field communication (NFC) chip and anti-slip varnish for safe grip and handling. 

The pharmaceutical packaging company says that, as demand for weight management medication grows, pharmaceutical companies are increasingly “focused on solutions that support scalability, usability, and differentiation.” 

Simultaneously, labels that incorporate digital elements are continuing to grow as packaging moves beyond its conventional protective role. Packaging Insights speaks to Sebastian Muenscher, senior product manager for radio frequency identification (RFID) and NFC solutions at Schreiner MediPharm, about how smart labels can enhance patient support. 

“The NFC functionality integrated into the label is designed to demonstrate how easily patients can access connected digital services by tapping the pen label with a smartphone and to give an impression of the wide range of digital options this technology can offer for patients,” says Muenscher.

This can include interactive support, video tutorials, medication reminders, or other patient-centric services.

Recently, Identiv, a digital solutions provider, has expanded its range of NFC inlays and tags, which aim to secure digital intelligence to compact products, like labels. Meanwhile, Avery Dennison updated its range of NFC products with a flexible integrated circuit product line featuring Pragmatics Semiconductor’s chip. 

Tamper detection

Muenscher says that the NFC chip also provides a layer of security for patients, acting as a tamper indicator. 

Schreiner's solution combines material expertise, precision printing, and functional label engineering (Image credit: Schreiner).“Depending on the specific customer application and threat scenario, the NFC-labels can be equipped with high-security chips featuring state-of-the-art encryption whose code can neither be faked nor manipulated.”

Additionally, certain label constructions that cover the pen and part of the cap can provide a digital first-opening indication for smart tamper evidence, he adds.

Pragmatic Semiconductor recently developed a new tamper detection product for packaging to safeguard product integrity while preserving the outward appearance. Similarly, UFlex received an Indian patent for its reclosable packaging solution with a tampering detection feature and barrier properties for large-format bags.

Patient handling

Schreiner MediPharm highlights how it combined “material expertise, precision printing, and functional label engineering” to ensure secure adhesion of the label to the pen throughout the product life-cycle.

Muenscher adds: “A special anti-slip varnish provides improved grip and convenient handling, while a sophisticated holographic feature enables intuitive physical authentication by the patient.”

Moreover, a structure protects the NFC chip against mechanical stress and impacts. “This enables high-speed dispensing in pharmaceutical production with chip breakage rates tending toward zero, whereas clearly higher failure rates occur with conventional RFID labels,” he explains.

Last year, Schreiner MediPharm and a US software company, Bluesight, developed RFID labels to optimize digital inventory control in hospital pharmacies. The technology captures the drug and crucial information, such as batch numbers, expiration dates, missing or expired drugs, or indications of previously opened drugs.