Pharmaceutical Packaging: Getting past Tylenol
Photo by Kolleen Gladden on Unsplash
It’s a generation ago, but industry veterans still shudder when they hear “Tylenol” and “1982” in the same breath. In that year somebody in the Chicago area replaced Tylenol tablets with cyanide-laced versions, causing at least 7 deaths. The company acted swiftly, creating a textbook response to the crisis that is still studied today. The final part of their response was in the packaging. As one study notes:
Johnson & Johnson communicated their new triple safety seal packaging - a glued box, a plastic sear over the neck of the bottle, and a foil seal over the mouth of the bottle - with a press conference at the manufacturer's headquarters. Tylenol became the first product in the industry to use the new tamper-resistant packaging just 6 months after the crisis occurred.
Packaging with integrity
Packaging matters, and no more than in the global pharmaceutical industry. Trust, adherence to regulations, customer health, shareholder value - they all rely on getting the right product, with the right freshness and in the correct dosage to the right person. With 4.5 trillion doses delivered annually, it’s a complex and multifaceted challenge.
Addressing special challenges for seniors
Older citizens are a growing user base for medicines and they provide a significant packaging challenge. As one brand expert noted:
“Pharmaceutical companies providing medication for the elderly find that compliance, that is, the extent to which patients follow provider recommendations for day-to-day treatment with respect to timing, dosage and frequency, is the number one issue impacting packaging design.”
Key components of ‘senior-friendly’ packaging are:
Clear product brand name
Easy to open and seal (the simultaneous requirement to be ‘child proof’ is a real conundrum for packaging manufacturers)
Visible dosage indicators and reminders
Clear labeling of benefits and repercussions of not taking the medicine
The importance of getting ‘senior packaging’ right cannot be overstated. Poor packaging and labelling results in missed dosage (over and under) and potential poison threats to children who can open the container. A 2014 study reported that, in three out of four cases of child drug poisonings, the medication belonged to a parent (39% of cases) or grandparent (38%).
In response to this the industry has evolved.Clear instructions and larger tops help, but blister packs are becoming more prevalent. Blister packs can deliver the right prescription amount, and are more difficult for children to tamper with.
Precision, transparency and serialisation
The other innovation the packaging industry brings to pharma is serialisation. We’ve covered this is in a previous post, but to summarise, the process involves acquiring unique serial numbers for each item, assigning those numbers to each batch produced, printing the serial number on the product's label in the form of, for example, a barcode, and then managing the data so you can trace the product by serial number. This satisfies government regulators, allows for more efficient management of inventory and delivers a level of trust to consumers – this last, as we discussed above – a key component in maintaining the producer’s reputation.
Around 12 billion prescriptions are filled annually in the UK. Each one is important, sometimes palliative, sometimes life-saving. It’s a vital industry - sophisticated, integrated and profitable. Responsible and precise packaging plays an important role in keeping the medicine fresh, appropriately dispensed and available, and we’re proud to play our part.