Watson Laboratories’ Glipizide Key.In package won the 2007 Compliance Package of the Year award from the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council . The package, a unique carded wallet, is manufactured by Nosco for Watson Laboratories. The pack functions with a removable key card that must be inserted into a lock in order to access the blisters within.

Two pharmaceuticals and one medical device package were among those to win the Institute of Packaging Professionals’ 2007 AmeriStar Awards. In the Pharmaceutical and Drug category, Mylan Pharmaceuticals chose MeadWestvaco Health & Beauty Packaging’s Shellpak (shown) to answer Wal-Mart's challenge to its generic prescription drug producers to provide cost-effective, patient-adherence packaging.

The holographic industry is working hard to destroy the myth that sophisticated holograms cannot be counterfeited; anything can be counterfeited. The question is how well, and this is where the real value of holograms can be appreciated. The evolving anti-counterfeiting role of holograms lies in their ability to combine authentication with detection--and this is why enlightened pharmaceuticals companies and enforcement agencies continue to make them an integral part of their anti-counterfeiting strategies.

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 .

E-newsletters
May 9, 2008: Anti-counterfeiting tops agenda at Americas Technology Summit

April 28, 2008: Dos and don'ts on brand protection

April 11, 2008: Tips for working with consultants

March 28, 2008: Robotic Rx for pharmaceutical packaging

March 17, 2008: Kenya tackles drug counterfeiting

March 7, 2008: Could combination products recharge Puerto Rico's pharmaceutical industry?

February 18, 2008: International panel lends global flavor to the Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum

February 8, 2008: Tips to make your OTC package 'consumer-centric'

January 21, 2008: Medical device blogger addresses technical packaging questions

January 11, 2008: Beyond cleanrooms: Debating RABS and isolators

January 2, 2008: Watch for 'alpha/omega' packaging systems

December 7, 2007: Summit introduces Brand-Protection Packaging Forum

November 30, 2007: Air-pouch void-fill system packs a big payback

November 9, 2007: Brecon betters blister packing

October 12, 2007: California ePedigree update

October 5, 2007: Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum 2008 taking shape

September 21, 2007: Prototype pack has designs on medical emergencies

September 14, 2007: Are Chinese imports immediately suspect?

September 7, 2007: Packaging machine provides healthy mail-order results

August 24, 2007: Malibu Wellness pumps new packaging

August 10, 2007: Dietary supplements swallow new packaging standards

August 3, 2007: Diverse approach counters counterfeiting

July 13, 2007: Noni juice dresses for success

July 06, 2007: Automation standards benefit pharmaceutical/medical applications

June 29, 2007: HCPC names compliance packages of the year

June 22, 2007: Air cushioning brightens Sunrise Medical's shipments

June 15, 2007: Laser technology hits the mark on blister packaging

June 8, 2007: AstraZeneca engineer identifies ways to increase packaging line uptime

May 25, 2007: California's ePedigree requirement and RFID

May 18, 2007: Anti-counterfeiting strategies begin to take shape

May 11, 2007: Healthcare enters time of profound change

May 04, 2007: Top 10 FDA developments

Apr. 27, 2007: Six Sigma and pharmaceutical packaging

Apr. 20, 2007: Teen skin care products pack inspiration

Apr. 13, 2007: Report: Heavier reliance on 'network pharma' model

Apr. 09, 2007: Futuristic pill container zaps prescription meds

Mar. 23, 2007: Strategic planning needed for 11607 compliance

Mar. 16, 2007: FDA's Marlowe addresses medical device makers

Mar. 9, 2007: Package testing tips and insights

Mar. 2, 2007: Single-dose HIV pack earns FPA recognition

Feb. 23, 2007: End-user input critical to tray manufacturing

Feb. 16, 2007: Aluminum bottle for stimulation beverage excites Fever

Feb. 9, 2007: Automation pumps up Indian pharmaceutical industry

Feb. 5, 2007: Tips on minimizing unplanned downtime

Jan. 26, 2007: JETT equipment acquisition model set to fly

Jan. 19, 2007: Smart packaging in drug development: The disconnect in clinical trials

Jan. 12, 2007: Adverse event reporting tightens for OTCs and dietary supplements

Jan. 5, 2007: Whitening paste emphasizes product attributes, store environment

Dec. 15, 2006: Custom branding clears up skincare's packaging

Dec. 8, 2006: Better barriers needed for pharmaceutical blisters

Dec. 1, 2006: Taking the pulse of RFID for pharmaceuticals

Nov. 27, 2006: Contract packager first to launch CR/SF packaging system

Nov. 17, 2006: AstraZeneca boosts OEE with accumulation, buffering, and line-balancing system

Nov. 11, 2006: 'Dangerous Doses' author addresses counterfeit drugs

Nov. 3, 2006: Pouch battles death in Baghdad

Oct. 27, 2006: Institute calls for label symbol, funding, and reorganization to fix drug safety

Oct. 20, 2006: Polyurethane protects DePuy's hip and knee replacement products

Oct. 13, 2006: Tamper-evident RFID for pharmaceuticals

Oct. 6, 2006: Hot insights from Cold Chain forum

Sep. 29, 2006: No more delays for drug pedigree requirement

Sep. 22, 2006: User-friendly package delivers needed burst for diabetics

Sep. 15, 2006: New report has Rx for drug packaging

Sep. 8, 2006: Vitamins switch into bioplastic PLA containers

Sep. 1, 2006: Living up to your label claims

Aug. 25, 2006: Cardinal Health kicks off RFID pilot

Aug. 18, 2006: Improving pharmaceutical packaging machinery automation

Aug. 11, 2006: Healthcare packaging lessons learned

July 2006
The future of medicine
FDA analyst delivers medical device labeling insights
RFID breaks new ground in clinical trial packaging
RFID: Item-level tagging accelerates for pharmaceutical packaging
And articles about packaging materials and the environment, new materials, new equipment, and more.

June 2006
Readying for a healthcare packaging evolution
Bar codes: Reducing medication errors in hospitals
New packaging requirements needed for combination products
What’s in it for packagers?
And articles about packaging materials and the environment, new materials, new equipment, and more.

May 2006
Risk assessment: A step-by-step process
Packaging challenges in the operating room
What ISO 11607 revisions mean to you
Taking the pulse of this nation’s healthcare market and packaging growth
And articles about packaging materials and the environment, new materials, new equipment, and more.

April 2006
Validation continues to challenge packagers
Packaging can ease pharmacists’ expanding role
Multipack shrink wrapper
Machine upgrades and rebuilds
And articles about packaging materials and the environment, new materials, new equipment, and more.

March 2006
Compliance packaging: Tips from a contract packager
Plastic tanks and carboys for bioproduction
ABS for medical applications
Leveraging conveyor systems to increase productivity
And articles about packaging materials and the environment, new materials, new equipment, and more.

February 2006
Validation: Drug makers take an enlightened view
Drug counterfeiting: The battle rages on
Trend spotting: Medical device packaging poised for automation
Item-level e-Pedigree implementation
And articles about packaging materials and the environment, new materials, new equipment, and more.

January 2006
Lean manufacturing at Smith & Newphew
Healthcare packaging makes a difference
Pondering material and machinery advances
Three healthcare packaging management strategies
And articles about validation issues, outsourcing and contract packaging, RFID deployment, and more.

December 2005
Packaging needs to attract, educate, and train engineers
Countering the counterfeiting challenge
Edible strips now deliver drugs
Accelerated aging: An imprecise science
And articles about news briefs, manufacturing in Puerto Rico, new devices, drug tracking, and more.

November 2005
Packaging proves critical for pharma cold chain
Healthcare packaging in Puerto Rico
Six steps to achieving consistent induction seals in caps
Improved packaging benefits hospital
And articles about cold chain distribution, nutraceuticals, package design shortcomings, FDA recalls, and more.

October 2005
Robots improve pharmaceutical packaging line flexibility
Packaging for the new healthcare market
Peelable, tamper-evident seals
Packaging board
And articles about writing a URS, new materials, new equipment, RFID update, and more.

September 2005
Automated systems compute at GAMP Americas Forum
Accelerated aging for medical devices can bring packaging woes
Packaging and crisis management
New designs for OTC packaging
And articles about medical packaging, counterfeiting, salary survey of healthcare packaging professionals, and more.

August 2005
Packaging and personalized medicine
Counterfeiting drugs: Growing, global problem
Pouches, blister pack earn DuPont honors
New packaging aids safety and tracking
And articles about new materials, new equipment, new controls, RFID systems, regulatory affairs, and more.

July 2005
MD&M speakers tout virtual package design for medical devices
Study reveals packaging’s impact on hypertension
Packaging’s role in poison prevention
Futuristic drug-delivery patches go ‘high tech’
And articles on pharmaceutical packaging validation, new materials, label verification, and more.

June 2005
What skills will you need to succeed?
Security and U.S. trade shows
Weighing conferences with Webcasts
Validation efforts need to incorporate machine operators
And articles about the medical device packaging market, package testing, packaging line productivity, and more.

May 2005
Interphex conference reviews
Gas prices and healthcare packaging
The changing landscape of pharmaceutical packaging
Interpack wrap-up: PAT, RSS, and other trends
And articles about new materials, RFID’s benefits and progress, drug tracking, new equipment, and more.

April 2005
Hi-res laser coder
Speakers address counterfeiting, E-labeling
A slice of a $1 trillion pie, anyone?
Ethnographic research: What CPG brand managers can teach us…
And articles about easy-open caps, the sterilization process, packaging machine integration, new equipment, and more.

March 2005
Pfizer executive addresses interoperability and enterprise integration
‘Big Pharma’ makes big contributions to tsunami relief
Packaging engineers need to understand distribution and shipping issues
Insights into packaging drugs, medical devices, and biologics
And articles about manufacturing in China, medical device packaging, sterile packaging line efficiency, new materials, and more.

February 2005
Group seeks supplements’ standards
News Briefs
Six common machine failures and revelations
Dietary Supplement Labeling
And articles about induction sealing, clinical trial packaging, international packaging, new equipment, and more.

January 2005
FDA issues RFID Compliance Policy Guide
RFID: More than just blowing smoke
Cartoned convenience for HIV/AIDS medication
Purdue Pharma uses RFID on OxyContin
And articles about electronic batch records systems, conveyor efficiency, new materials, regulatory affairs, and more.

Watson Laboratories’ Glipizide Key.In package won the 2007 Compliance Package of the Year award from the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council . The package, a unique carded wallet, is manufactured by Nosco for Watson Laboratories. The pack functions with a removable key card that must be inserted into a lock in order to access the blisters within.

Two pharmaceuticals and one medical device package were among those to win the Institute of Packaging Professionals’ 2007 AmeriStar Awards. In the Pharmaceutical and Drug category, Mylan Pharmaceuticals chose MeadWestvaco Health & Beauty Packaging’s Shellpak (shown) to answer Wal-Mart's challenge to its generic prescription drug producers to provide cost-effective, patient-adherence packaging.

The holographic industry is working hard to destroy the myth that sophisticated holograms cannot be counterfeited; anything can be counterfeited. The question is how well, and this is where the real value of holograms can be appreciated. The evolving anti-counterfeiting role of holograms lies in their ability to combine authentication with detection--and this is why enlightened pharmaceuticals companies and enforcement agencies continue to make them an integral part of their anti-counterfeiting strategies.

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 .

Noting that some 850 million people around the world are starving, Ipack-Ima CEO Guido Corbella told journalists at an April 25 press briefing during interpack in Dusseldorf, Germany, that an international summit on the subject of world hunger would be part of Ipack-Ima 2009. Supported by the United Nations and the Italian Ministry for Agricultural, Environmental and Food Policies, the proposed summit is aimed at identifying contributions that food production and packaging systems can make in a global effort to address the problem of world hunger.

Shipping containers and materials must maintain complex, costly prescriptions in the 2ºC to 8ºC (36ºF to 46ºF) temperature range. Now in test: sustainable packaging.

Dosing and delivery options, pack configurations, and date-coding standards challenge hospital pharmacists.

Global packaging standards, 11607 compliance, accelerated aging, and tips for working with consultants are discussed at MD&M West.

Growth in the Chinese pharmaceutical sector was evident at the China-Pharm 2007 show last November in Shanghai.

Biopharmaceutical growth, excursions, and monitoring responsibilities are key issues for shippers of temperature-sensitive products.

• made from polymers such as nylon, polypropylene, and polyester, these covert materials may be placed on medicines such as capsules and tablets

• serve as authentication to combat counterfeiting as each fiber includes brand owner-specific information that can include logos, product coding, country of origin, and distribution sites, as well as numbers, letters, and patterns

ARmark Authentication Technologies, LLC
(www.armark.org)

• Paper Lock combines a multilayer, coextruded forming film with an uncoated, medical kraft-grade paper

• Paper Lock Hybrid forming film (Grade 36668) offers advantages of ionomer and nylon resin in the same film, providing thermoformability, high tensile strength, and abrasion-resistance

• Hybrid film direct-seals to Paper Lock 70 GSM uncoated paper, providing seal strength in the 300- to 450-g force/in. range

Perfecseal, a Bemis co.
(www.perfecseal.com)

• for dispensing liquid product, such as children’s medications, cosmetic creams, and laboratory water testing

• components include plastic or glass pipettes, closures, and bulbs, in a variety of sizes or lengths

• offered in custom colors and with a choice of wrapping options

Comar
(www.comar.com/dropperassemblies)

• Touch of Silk family of films and printed packaging makes products stand out on the store shelf

• soft feel and appearance result in reduced noise, conveying the qualities of discretion and gentleness, avoiding
the embarrassing rustling of personal hygiene packaging

• conversion and printing requires no equipment modifications

Pliant Corp.
(www.pliantcorp.com)

• version 2.0 authentication platform includes unit-level traceability features to automatically detect diversion and improve product protection and security through the distribution channel

• generates, analyzes, and tracks secure, nonsequential, nonrepeating codes applied to packages via labels or printing

• platform can be integrated into a manufacturer’s production process for verification and tracing via the Internet, secure Web portals, and mobile phones

YottaMark, Inc.
(www.yottamark.com)