The development of the pharmaceutical industry has resulted in many different products available on the market – in tablets, liquids, powders, creams, etc. In addition to the content itself, an essential element of each product is appropriately selected packaging. Its construction, material, and functionality must meet specific requirements and standards. Proper protection of a preparation begins at the production stage—regardless of whether it concerns OTC packaging or prescription medication.
Requirements for pharmaceutical packaging
Packaging used for pharmaceutical products serves far more functions than merely storing substances. It is required to effectively protect the product from external factors and enable its proper use. This is not only a matter of convenience, but above all, safety.
Packaging must protect the contents from light, moisture, and oxygen, which can affect the degradation of the active substance. Equally important are hygiene issues—preventing contamination and minimizing the risk of interaction with the packaging material.
Clear labeling of the pharmaceutical product is also expected, enabling the patient to identify the product without error and use it correctly. The packaging should be user/consumer-friendly and maintain full functionality throughout the entire period of use of the preparation. Additionally, protection against counterfeiting, the risk of accidental ingestion by children, and ensuring appropriate functional properties during transport and storage must be considered.
Types of packaging used in pharmacy
Depending on the form of the preparation, specific solutions in packaging production are selected. The market offers a wide range of forms—from jars and tubes to vials and blisters. The shape and capacity must meet both technological requirements and safety standards.
Raw materials used in packaging production
The material from which the packaging is made affects the durability and stability of the product. We will discuss the two most commonly used: glass and plastics.
Glass packaging
Glass is characterized by high tightness and chemical resistance. For this reason, it is used in the production of pharmaceutical bottles intended for storing liquids, light-sensitive substances, and medicines requiring sterilization. The transparency of glass can be limited by color variants, which reduces light transmission. The disadvantage of this material is its susceptibility to mechanical damage and greater mass, which complicates transport and increases logistics costs. The advantage is that it does not lose its properties over time and does not interact with the pharmaceutical product.
Plastic packaging
Plastics have the widest application. They are lightweight, resistant to mechanical damage, and enable the formation of various shapes. This solution is often chosen in the production of medicine bottles. Although they may be less resistant to interactions with the pharmaceutical product, when properly selected and used under established conditions, they provide the expected level of protection.
In plastics processing, one of the methods of success in packaging production is the use of micro-injection technology, which is based on minimizing the costs of manufacturing production tools. Single-cavity or multi-cavity solutions are used, optimizing production needs to the expected annual demand for a given product. This method allows for cost optimization due to significantly lower energy consumption, minimizing the need for production space, and the time required to prepare production. It is also much easier to fulfill orders for colour versions.
It is worth emphasizing that micro-injection technology has already been introduced and is successfully used in Poland. Atech, a plastic packaging manufacturer, uses it to produce plastic packaging, dispensers, droppers, and other products necessary for the use of pharmaceutical products.
Standards and legal requirements
Medicine packaging must meet a number of standards regulated by both national law and international standards. The Pharmaceutical Law Act of September 6, 2001 indicates that the Summary of Product Characteristics must contain a detailed description of the packaging—both its construction and the material used.
The content placed on the packaging should be legible and understandable. Even such details as typography, colour scheme, and print contrast are specified. In the application for product marketing authorization, a design of all packaging components—both internal and external—must be presented. It is also necessary to present material tests and results confirming the absence of migration of harmful substances.
The reasons for packaging changes in the pharmaceutical product market can be very diverse. They are usually enforced by legal regulations concerning, for example: labeling with safety marks or the use of child-resistant and senior-friendly closures. No less important are marketing arguments, such as differentiating the product from the competition. Manufacturers use more modern packaging, introduce accessories facilitating the measurement and administration of medicine, and also implement packaging that emphasizes the features of a given product.
Pharmaceutical packaging—a manufacturer you can trust
Appropriately selected packaging protects the pharmaceutical product from degradation and loss of properties. The use of a given packaging must be considered in the context of expected benefits and costs of the entire operation. Many issues must be considered and addressed before starting the process of implementing new packaging. The most important of these issues are: limitations of production lines and manufacturing technology, requirements of the given pharmaceutical preparation, financial and time factors, and finally requirements regarding the registration of the medicinal product.
The most important aspect in the production of pharmaceutical packaging is defining and understanding customers’ expectations. It is particularly important to provide the packaging manufacturer with all information related to the final use of the packaging, the conditions for manufacturing the final product, the temperature of the technological process, and other conditions that may seem obvious to the medicine manufacturer but are not necessarily known to the packaging manufacturer.
Sometimes a minor oversight of one of the important factors (e.g., the temperature of the technological process) can lead to major complications, prolonging the time to implement the project, and in extreme cases, to the failure of the entire project. This is precisely why proper communication and cooperation with a trustworthy packaging manufacturer is so important.
