While pack safety is prerequisite, convenience has become an recognised factor in patient compliance and effective dispensing. RPC reviews recent patient-friendly pack developments
Safety has long been the driving force behind healthcare and pharmaceutical packaging, as manufacturers seek to reassure consumers of product integrity and to prevent children gaining unsupervised access to potentially dangerous medication. National and international legislation, plus the risk of litigation should anything untoward occur, have placed a com-prehensive duty of care on pharmaceutical brands to be responsible.
Nonetheless, safety should not come at the expense of user convenience. Packaging that is difficult to use or to open will soon reveal that impressive safety features alone do not equate to a successful product. The RPC Group is one packaging supplier that has long taken the view that safety and convenience must be considered - if not equally - then certainly in tandem.
"There are two key questions that need to be asked of any pharmaceutical pack," says Philip Lindsay, sales and marketing manager, Healthcare, RPC Market Rasen. "The first is who might gain access to the product; the second is who should have access. Whilst it is essential to prevent unwanted access to the former group, this should not be at the expense of those for whom the products are intended."
For the elderly and infirm, for example, convenience is arguably the most crucial consideration, and if a container is awkward to open, consumers are likely turn to products with alternative packaging. RPC Market Rasen has developed a range of senior-friendly child resistant closure (CRC) solutions in response to this, from simple "squeeze and turn" caps to the Easi-top system, which uses a key to facilitate easy removal and resealing of the cap. These systems complement the range of Tot Secure "Line up and Lift" tamper-evident containers at the RPC Market Rasen site.
It is not only recloseable containers that must achieve this balance between safety and convenience. In October 2005 new legislation came into effect stipulating that blister and strip packs for products containing aspirin, paracetamol and iron must also meet strict child-resistance guidelines. Devising a format that can conform to the new standard, yet maintain the traditional ease of use associated with blister packaging, represents a significant challenge.
One solution is 1@ Time - a dispensing system for blister packs created in partnership by RPC Market Rasen, who manufactures the product, and pharmaceutical packaging specialist TD Packaging. The rotary design, patented by TD Packaging and developed into a functional pack by RPC's design studio, consists of a pocket-sized clam-shaped holder that fits around a rotary tablet blister.
The holder has two small levers on the side that lock into notches on the blister. To dispense a tablet or capsule, the levers need to be depressed simultaneously to enable the blister pack to be rotated and bring a blister pocket in line with the dispensing hole.
While this is simple for adults and requires very lit-tle pressure, it is virtually impossible for the small hands of children to depress both levers together.
When the blister pocket is in position, the tablet can be pushed out of the pack by slight pressure on a "hammer," built into the pack adjacent to the dispensing hole.
The main advantages of 1@ Time are its simplicity and economy. The blister pack itself does not require CRC - something that senior citizens can have difficulty with - and can therefore be manufactured from existing approval materials. In addition, with no need for an outer carton, the holder itself doubles as an attractive pocket or purse pack for enhanced convenience.
While RPC Market Rasen is a primary manufac-turer of tablet and capsule packaging solutions, RPC Formatec is the division with the expertise for inhala-tion systems.
The latest advances in this market are in dry powder, and such inhalers are increasing in popularity and being used for a range of medicines and remedies. Here too, it is the combination of safety and convenience that is a key driving force behind the trend. Whereas drugs that are injected or swallowed can cause side-effects, such as upset stomachs, dry powder is considered to be a more favourable delivery system because it goes straight to the lungs.
"Most leading pharmaceutical manufacturers are developing their dry powder solutions for a variety of conditions - for example, flu vaccines," says Ekhard Muegge, sales manager, Pharma and Technical Packaging, at RPC Formatec. "Powder is easier for the manufacturer to store and handle than liquid drugs and we have developed two inhaler delivery systems designed to maximise convenience to users."
RPC Formatec's recently launched PowderJet and PulmoJet represent a significant advance in inhaler technology. Both deliver an economic alternative to established formats - respectively, the wet nasal sprayer and the Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) - while providing the features of a modern dry powder system.
The PowderJet is a multi-dose nasal drug delivery device designed to efficiently disperse a metered dose of dry powder. It ensures effective delivery of drugs to the nasal cavity or the nasopharynx, with a powder dispersion profile that can be adjusted to customer requirements.
The PowderJet is easy to use, offering an innovative metering and ejection mechanism with automatic recharging. Conforming to both EU and US dose content uniformity requirements, the PowderJet offers up to 250 single doses depending on the product.
The PulmoJet is a breath-actuated multi-dose dry powder inhaler with a unique dosing mechanism. Its special air flow design ensures an optimal dispersion of the powder with minimal inhalation force by the user.
The device is designed for ease of use, with a simple open-inhale-close procedure that does not require the user to be upright. A successful inhalation is confirmed by audible and tactile signals. The system recharges automatically by unscrewing the cap. Further convenience is provided by an integrated dose counter.
RPC Formatec has designed a number of features to maintain product integrity and ensure user safety. The powder reservoir is hermetically sealed to offer the highest moisture barrier, and the actuation mechanism is resistant to shock and vibration. A security system prevents double dose loading during the recharging process.
Convenience has become the byword for a variety of pharmaceutical packaging solutions from containers to inhalers. Safety remains an essential consideration, but it is now first among equals, as market trends and technological advances combine to enable packaging is easy to use, handle and carry.
