Packed with potential

‘We shall continue to focus on developing new alternates’

The demands from pharmaceutical packaging companies is only set to increase as drug manufacturers continue to face a number of challenges and they are looking for solutions to protect and promote their products, increase patient compliance, and meet new regulations.

Besides quantitative, qualitative adherence to customer requirements within the defined time lines of GMP, quality certification, training (continuous upgradation of skills), product re-engineering/ cost focus, concern for the environment (EHS) and good corporate governance, we at Parth Foils are focused on the following specific areas:

Support for mass serialisation

Pharma companies are initiating mass serialisation to support traceability and to support this endeavour, we are in the process of installing one ‘online’ bar code reader on our printing machines in the ‘pharma division’ on a trial basis. Gradually all our printing machines will be retro fitted with this attachment.

Bringing differentiated packaging solutions to market

Increasingly, generic pharma manufacturers are using packaging to increase sales, boost profitability and provide greater value to customers. “ACLAR” like high moisture barrier thermo formable blister film, is serving as a key enabler in bringing differentiated packaging solutions to market. We are working with global packaging companies for a strategic partnership to promote cost effective “ACLAR” like films in India and should be able to ink the deal by mid 2014.

Developing safer packaging alternates

To prevent tragic accidents and especially malicious tampering, manufacturers try to create safe packaging and governments continue to update regulations to include new tamper-evident technology. Tragic accidents involving the drug intoxication of children has led to new legislation making it difficult for drug packaging to be opened by young children, while allowing adults easy access. Such packaging is designated as child-resistant. As pioneers and leading providers of child resistant laminate in India, we shall continue to focus on developing new alternates whilst improving upon the existing specifications

Other than these initiatives, we are continuously working on:

• Anti-counterfeit packaging solutions including in-house and online hologram transfer on foil and PVC
• Optimised packaging to reduce material consumption and hence cost
• Development of new ‘under coat’, ‘over coat’ and ‘ink systems’ to withstand high temperature sealing on the new generation express speed blister packing machines
• Development of ‘universal lacquers’ to facilitate sealing of the blister foil with PVC, PVDC, other thermoforming and cold forming materials
• Development of ‘under coat/primer’ to facilitate printing of foil on the HAPA machines
• Look at adding ‘CFB Alu-Alu/ tropicalised laminates’ and ‘PVDC/PVC’ to our product portfolio.

– Debdeep Bhattacharya, Chief Executive Officer, Parth Foils

‘It is becoming mandatory to follow scientific packaging methods’

With more than one third of US FDA approvals from India, there is no doubt that the Indian pharmaceutical industry is emerging as a major generic player in the global market. The exports of formulations has a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 21 per cent. Also by 2015, about $150 billion worth of drugs are set to lgo off patents.

As the cost of manufacturing is relatively low in India and Indian companies too have proved capable of keeping costs low, this is the right time for exploring this opportunity. Packaging obviously plays a major role in helping Indian pharma companies catch up with innovator drugs in the US and other regulatory markets,

These are the trends I foresee in the pharma packaging market in 2014:

Single-dose formats have already been capturing a sizeable part of the market and this trend will increase in the future. The challenge is to keep the pack as compact as possible, and yet give users the information they need to have as clearly as possible. And they need to address patient safety and compliance simultaneously.

Packaging solutions that address cool chain requirements in secondary, tertiary packaging will gain market as there will be a surge in the usage of temperature sensitive drugs.

Combination products alias combo drug packs will see more acceptance and it’s a challenge for a packaging developer to offer a solution for packing heterogeneous products while following compliance requirements.

Packaging for injectables and pre-filled syringes: The market for injectable drug devices and pre-filled syringes will grow multiple times. This is because self administered therapies (suggested by physicians) will see a major surge. So the packaging must ensure dosing accuracy, be tamper evident, and ensures patient compliance. And it must also help prevent drug spray-back and more importantly help prevent accidental injuries due to needle sticks.

Blow fill seal (BFS) technology is becoming more and more prominent as some products cannot withstand continuous exposures to high temperatures and they have issues with conventional sterilisation. BFS process paves way for bulk sterilisation, gamma radiation immediately followed by packaging.

While packaging has to protect product integrity, it must also help patient safety, be child resistant and tamper evident as well. These will be in major demand as they protect people against incidental and accidental poisoning.

As packaging is almost directly involved in the drug manufacturing process, it is becoming mandatory to follow scientific packaging methods that address the product’s needs, patient convenience and of course, product security and ousting factors. Needless to say, brand identity must be addressed as well.

– Chakravarthi AVPS, Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, Ecobliss India

u.sharma@expressindia.com