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More is going on in RFID apart from news of the decision by the California Board of Pharmacy to delay requirement for e-pedigree tracking of drugs until 2011. RFID analysts from ABI Research commented about RFID developments and drivers in pharmaceutical markets. Analyst Peter Poorman (shown here) says the current state of affairs in RFID is typical to that of many technologies. "After a period of excitement and then a period of disappointment, there follows a period of adoption on an upward ramp. I think we’re at the beginning of that ramp with RFID."
Pharmaceutical firms seek packaging line improvements to cut costs, biologics present packaging challenges, and medical device growth is driven by aging baby boomers. These treatment advances bode well for the healthcare/life sciences packaging community. Packaging materials need to offer protection from point of manufacture to the “last mile” where healthcare products reach a patient. Packaging materials must provide barriers for moisture, oxygen, light and heat, and they may include overt and/or covert security measures to combat counterfeiting and diversion. Equipment will need to package products more efficiently, be validatable and versatile.
Panelists from McKesson Corp., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Amerisource Bergen Corp., and Ahold USA recognize that while radio-frequency identification (RFID) offers promise in the pharmaceutical sector, its adoption raises questions. That message came through loud and clear at a recent gathering at the EPC Connection event, held in Chicago in October.
Healthcare Packaging and Packaging World, producers of the Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum, and Ipack-Ima Spa, organizers of Pharmintech, announce a cooperative agreement in which Healthcare Packaging and Packaging World will offer promotional support to Ipack-Ima Spa, increasing the visibility for their Italian trade event, Pharmintech, to the U.S. pharmaceutical market. Pharmintech, held every three years in Italy, will next take place May 12th -14th, 2010 in Bologna, Italy.
Compliance with ANSI/AAMI/ISO 11607-parts 1 and 2 involves more than crossing items off of a checklist. It requires a medical device company to understand its applications and processes, the ability to read, visualize, and understand both parts of the standard, and the development of a strategic plan. That was the message from Randall J. Troutman, CPP and senior engineering manager with medical packaging supplier Oliver Medical during a Feb. 15 presentation at the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) show .
Spend an educational day with your peers and solution providers at the Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum (PPF) in Philadelphia March 29. The event is produced by Summit Publishing Company, publishers of Healthcare Packaging and Packaging World business publications. Seats are going quickly, so register soon.
Electronic compliance monitoring packaging has been around for years, yet many pharmaceutical companies are unable to quantify the return on investment of smart packaging. Pundits who predict the future of packaging often talk bout the rise of smart packaging. What exactly is a smart package? One U.K. Web site cites examples such as time-temperature food quality labels, self-heating or self-cooling containers—any package enhanced to deliver additional consumer convenience.
A report from Sept. 25-28's 4th Annual Cold Chain Distribution for Pharmaceuticals forum focusing on temperature-controlled packaging, shipping, distribution, and storage for pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals.
China's cold chain infrastructure is still fragmented, under-funded, and scrambling to keep up with soaring demand, reports the China Supply Chain Council.
The two companies recently signed multi-year commercial agreements for the temperature-controlled packaging and cold chain market in North America. TCP will serve as the exclusive reseller and distributor of ATP’s cold chain services and monitoring solutions in the United States. ATP will be the exclusive agent of TCP’s temperature-controlled packaging solutions in Canada. The companies also agreed to install in Laval, Quebec, Canada, a joint-venture laboratory for all design and testing activities related to temperature-controlled and cold chain packaging in Canada.
No wonder. Your company is likely being squeezed by regulations, validation issues, new technologies such as advanced machine controls and RFID, not to mention a host of broader issues ranging from individual patient compliance to a potential global bird flu pandemic.
If that’s not enough to spike your blood pressure, all these challenges hit at a time when the public opinion of the pharmaceutical industry is about the same as it is for the tobacco business. That’s according to Carl Fearn, sales director for IMS Health in Australia, during his speech at last month’s ISPE Annual Meeting. Fearn attributed the information to a recent Harris consumer poll, declaring, “That’s just not right, since our products help save lives.”
Healthcare packaging professionals face numerous critical issues. One of the most alarming threats facing industry and consumers is counterfeit drugs. The topic was discussed at the ISPE meeting in Phoenix, as well as at October’s Cold Chain Distribution for Pharmaceuticals 2005 Conference in Philadelphia, at September’s Frontline Solutions Conference and Expo in Chicago, and at last month’s PIRA International Innovations in Security Technology Conference in Chicago.
