Pack Expo 2024: Advancements in medical care packaging
04 Dec 2024 | Turchette
We speak to Christopher Dale, executive director of public relations for marketing agency Turchette, about his thoughts on the medical packaging industry. We also discuss how trade shows facilitate developments and new releases in the pharmaceutical segment.
OK, we're at PA Expo.
I'm joined by Christopher Dale.
Hi there.
Hi, hello there.
Could you introduce yourself and what you're doing?
Sure, I am the executive director of public relations for Chechette.
We are a Northern New Jersey based marketing agency.
We kind of cover the full gamut from earned media like public relations to advertising, web content, social media oversight, the whole nine.
Brilliant.
And, we've been seeing a lot of stuff around pharma packaging at this year's show.
Could you talk a bit about what you see in that area of the industry?
Sure, pharma packaging has really come into its own in terms of the sustainability angle.
Especially it's always going to be challenging for pharma to match the eco-friendliness of the health and beauty sector, cosmetics, food and beverage.
Exclusively because you're looking at Very sensitive drugs, high potency ingredients, and patient safety first and foremost, so there can be absolutely no sacrificing of performance for sustainability's sake in the pharma industry.
Not that there isn't in those other sectors either, but it's a little easier to get to the sustainable substrates when you're talking about bags of potato chips or you know things like that or a bottle a plastic bottle of Coca-Cola for example.
How, how do you see the industry navigating those two demands to become more sustainable and at the same time not to take any more risk?
No, I think it's terrific.
I think that in the era of social media there has been such a groundswell, a base up push for to further sustainability, to save the planet, to make things.
To recyclable, to add new recycling streams.
Our, our recycling stream in the United States is, is, is honestly just far inferior to what it is in the European Union and even the UK.
And as we continue to push from the base up and from the top down with government regulations, it, it literally creates a situation where, you are, you're, you're, you're putting a, a, a fair amount of pressure on, on, on.
Companies, including the healthcare sector to innovate sustainably within the guardrails that you need to really be careful not to sacrifice the shelf life of the drug, the efficacy of the drug, the safety of the patients.
Obviously patient safety and the drug has to work is paramount and will always be paramount in the pharming industry.
What would you say are some of the biggest developments that you've seen happen this year?
The advent of blister packaging that can be recycled and even start to include some PCR, some post recycled consumer content, is huge.
You can do a lot of things that are sustainable minded and they are.
Doing that things like using less water, sourcing electricity from sustainable sources, trying to lightweight items so that it uses less gas along the supply chain, things like that.
But from a material science standpoint, from a substrate standpoint, the fact that we're now starting to get these blister packages that not only do their job first and foremost, but are also either sustainable, incorporate post-consumer recycled content, or both, it's highly encouraging and given the gauntlet that regulatory authorities are asking for and consumers are asking for.
I think I think that the industry itself is doing a good job navigating the feasibility and innovation without sacrificing safety, compliance, drug efficacy, things that are just you really cannot sacrifice.
They are non-starters.
I think it's moving along fairly.
I think it's a success story in the making that really doesn't have an ending yet, but it's moving towards a happy one.
Brilliant.
And PA Expo this year, biggest, biggest packaging trade show in the world.
We've all we've all gone Teams and Zoom on everything, and it's FaceTime, you know.
I think that the first PA Expo I had the pleasure of attending was 2 years ago.
I was 22.
It was here in Chicago.
And people were just so happy to see each other again, and, and just have some face time.
We're social creatures, and you know, getting to see things that are machinery working and, you know, packaging demonstrations, you know, webinars and presentations in, in, you know, in, in for half an hour in a room, breakout room.
You're just learning by osmosis and by experience a lot more here than you can on Zoom.
Not that it's not a useful tool, but this is never going to have a place, no matter how technologically savvy we get.
We're talking about 65,000 people in the largest convention center in the country.
I think it speaks for itself.
Brilliant, Christopher, thank you.
Thank you.
