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The task of securing the supply chain and the need to adopt a layered approach using overt and covert security features often seems overwhelming; companies don’t know where to start or what technologies to invest in. That was a key message taken from anti-counterfeiting sessions at the 2008 Americas Technology Summit, an event focusing on brand protection and sustainability held in San Juan, Puerto Rico April 16-17. Americas Technology Summit was sponsored by National Label Co. and MWV .
A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico following the expiration of tax incentives from Section 936 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Could emerging combinations of biopharmaceuticals and medical devices provide a silver lining? A report from Interphex Puerto Rico.
San Juan’s Convention Center hosted the Feb. 1-2, 2007 Interphex Puerto Rico conference, with a keynote presentation delivered by Maridalia Torres, director of the San Juan district Food and Drug Administration office. One of the event’s highlights was a session focusing on Packaging End-of-Line Solutions, or PELS. It involves OEMs and controls suppliers working together to assist manufacturers of life science products.
Pharmaceutical companies at Interphex Puerto Rico will explore the latest options in Packaging End-of-Line Solutions (PELS) during a special luncheon at the Feb. 1-2 event in San Juan. Register by January 31 to receive free exhibit hall admission. Exhibit hall hours are 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., while conference hours are 9 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.
Insights from a February 16 conference at Medical Device Puerto Rico.
At this presentation, Jose Sadurni, general manager of Baxter Healthcare Corp., and Felix Rivera, president of supplier Engiworks Corp., focused on the benefits of factory automation. Among their observations were the following:
In this Q&A, Healthcare Packaging (HCP) discusses the business climate on the island with well-known speaker and quick-changeover expert John Henry (JH), CPP.
HCP: Please describe your packaging experience in Puerto Rico.
JH: I was the engineering manager for Alcon Laboratories in Puerto Rico from 1976 to 1985. Since then I have owned a company that designs, sells, and services packaging machinery. For the past eight years I have also spent about half my time consulting on manufacturing effectiveness, particularly on changeover. I am a frequent speaker at PackExpo and other shows and conferences and have published a couple dozen articles on packaging, packaging machinery, changeover, and related topics. (Subscribe to the Quick Changeover newsletter.)
HCP: How are drugs packaged and distributed in Puerto Rico compared with the process in the mainland United States?
JH: In Puerto Rico, we do everything from compounding, including biotech and sophisticated processing synthesizing, to final end-user packaging. Different companies distribute differently. Some send truckloads to distribution centers in the United States and elsewhere. Others, and this was the case when I worked for Alcon, send orders as small as mixed product cases to individual pharmacies.
With Medical Device Puerto Rico set for Feb. 16-17, 2006, Healthcare Packaging will take a look at the healthcare packaging market in Puerto Rico in the next few issues. The two-day conference will be held at the new Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan. Sessions include Six Sigma & Lean Manufacturing, Managing FDA Inspections, New Medical Device Reporting Rules, and Commissioning & Qualification for Medical Device Manufacturers. At the same time and place is Interphex Puerto Rico, an event for pharmaceutical professionals involved in the development, validation, manufacture, and packaging of pharmaceuticals.
U.S. firms in Puerto Rico (as of 2003)
According to PRIDCO (Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company), the following United States firms have more than one medical equipment and supplies plant operating in Puerto Rico: Baxter Intl., Becton-Dickinson & Co., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico, Lenscrafters, Inc., Stryker Corp., Johnson & Johnson, and Pearle Vision, Inc.
