Sustainable Procurement & CSR News - Pharmaceutical Industry

Thermal packaging solutions provider Packaging Technology Group (PTG) has introduced a sustainable dual temperature pharmaceutical shipper.

The thermal solution enables transport of medications and therapies with different temperature profiles together in the same container.

Usually, some medications would require to be shipped frozen and a few other need to be refrigerated.

With the dual temp shipper, transport of complex immunotherapies becomes easy. These treatments are effective in combating certain cancers and other diseases.

The R&D efforts of Europe’s pharma packaging companies when it comes to drug dispensing systems are focused on several ‘pain points’, among them an ageing population, child safety considerations, increasing compliance, product security and sustainability. Victoria Hattersley talks to some industry representatives to find out more about the unique challenges involved in dispensing medications and the different ways their organizations are approaching these.

Romaco’s Push Packs, made from recyclable polyolefin laminate, are the ‘first ever’ recyclable unit dose packaging for solid drug products, according to the company. The unit dose strip packaging foil was developed by the German processing equipment company Romaco, in collaboration with the Finish packaging company, Huhtamaki, “as a joint step towards more sustainable pharmaceutical packaging,”​ the companies stated. For the packaging to be produced, Huhtamaki’s foil, which has a recyclable rate of more than 70%, is processed into four-sided sealed strips with a push-through function using Romaco’s heat-sealing technology.

The pharmaceutical packaging industry has undergone noteworthy developments over the past couple of years, with the introduction of new packaging solutions. Pharmaceutical packaging offerings such as pharmaceutical plastic bottles are gaining major adoption across the sector. There are rigid packaging solutions for the protected and safe storage of pharmaceutical products. The materials utilized for manufacturing pharmaceutical plastic bottles are considered carefully in an attempt to provide superior protection for medicines.

Italy-based Bormioli Pharma has announced what it calls the 'first sustainable plastic packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical industry'. The company says this represents a breakthrough in a traditionally conservative and highly regulated industry.

Albertsons Companies pharmacies expects to save "75,000 pounds of packaging from the landfill every year," by changing the packaging they use for shipments according to a company press release. The company is replacing Styrofoam coolers with an insulator called ClimaCell made by TemperPack, making the company's shipment packaging completely recyclable. The packaging will be used for shipments to almost 50,000 specialty care patients, physician offices and other clients beginning this month. A more expansive rollout is planned "over the next year," the company said. 

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Romaco Siebler and foil specialist Huhtamaki are about to launch a range of recyclable unit dose packaging for solid pharmaceutical products, made from recyclable polyolefin laminate. With over 90% of the components used to make the packaging made of either polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), more than 70% of the final product can be recycled.

In an in-depth review of the market and having evaluated the collective developments from this year’s Pharmapack event, Gregor Anderson – MD of Pharmacentric Solutions – offers a positive appraisal of pharma’s drive towards sustainability.

“I am really encouraged by the massive strides we have made this year. As an industry, we are no longer paying lip service to sustainability and wherein once there might have just been a single dedicated employee, there are now entire teams looking at improving methods and exploring life-cycle impact” commented Anderson.

One of the big differences identified is the increased sharing across the industry and how actively involved the entire supply chain is in the discussion. Both the suppliers of packaging and devices are working more closely with big pharma and this is leading to accelerated development.

A recent study from McMaster University made headlines due to its findings that the pharma industry is a significant contributor to global warming and even eclipses the automotive industry in terms of carbon emissions.
With a deadline of 2022, Merck is targeting four aspects of packaging to reduce the amount of packaging it uses; achieve zero deforestation; improve plastic sustainability and maximise recycling.
Considering the company ships 30,000 packages each day, not to mention the complexity of the pharma supply chain, it’s an almost unfathomable task, but one that is necessary in an era in which environmental concerns are becoming more widespread. 

Merck - through its life sciences business – has launched its SMASH Packaging Plan to match previous efforts in improving product sustainability. With a deadline of 2022, Merck is targeting four aspects of packaging to reduce the amount of packaging it uses; achieve zero deforestation; improve plastic sustainability and maximise recycling. Considering the company ships 30,000 packages each day, not to mention the complexity of the pharma supply chain, it’s an almost unfathomable task, but one that is necessary in an era in which environmental concerns are becoming more widespread. 

The global pharmaceutical packaging market has been predicted to double to $149bn in a decade, with India one of the markets currently producing a large quantity of plastic pharmaceutical packaging. Large multinational pharma packaging companies, such as Amcor, Huhtamaki, West Pharma and SGD Pharma, along with Indian companies, including UFlex and EsselPropack, lead the way within the country’s pharma packaging market. One pharmaceutical challenge India faces is its heavily reliance on plastic packaging, which has triggered discussions on recycling and the lack of consumer knowledge in sustainability. In addition, India’s pharmaceutical packaging market is working towards creating innovative features like digital timers and alarms on pill bottles, dose monitoring and innovative mechanised blister packs.