Simulating drug-packaging conditions can save up to six months in development time.

For pharmaceutical companies, time is money: Those who get to market first with a new product will often capture the largest customer share and maximize profits.Innovators of new drugs commit considerable resources to developing and seeking approval for breakthrough products. The sooner they can market a new product, the sooner they can begin to see returns on their investment. Time is of the essence for manufacturers of generic drugs, too, since they often have a suite of drug applications pending and vie with competitors to be the first to commercialize their products for the 180-day period of marketing exclusivity. For these reasons, technologies and services that streamline drug development can provide important competitive advantages to drug manufacturers.Sophisticated packaging simulation modeling can help formulation chemists and packaging engineers identify the right conditions in which to ensure the stability and potency of drugs. This mechanism, referred to as ‘pseudo-empirical’ modeling, can be performed early in the development process, guiding production decisions and helping to avoid costly errors that could prove to be roadblocks to production.Pseudo-empirical modeling is a technique that uses empirically derived data measurements from the packaging materials, including moisture vapor transmission rate MVTR through the bottle, surface area of the bottle, sorbent adsorption isotherms, and drug product adsorption/desorption isotherms. Linking these variables together mathematically will pseudo-empirically predict the relative humidity of a pharmaceutical package’s headspace and drug product hydration level over time. This resulting information will ultimately determine the means by which manufacturers can maintain a drug’s chemical and physical characteristics over time.

via Healthcare Packaging.

SIG pips rivals to produce first one-litre aseptic FSC carton.

SIG Combibloc has won the race to produce the first FSC-certified one-litre aseptic beverage carton for packaging long-life juice drinks and ice teas.The first run of the new cartons, which are marked with the FSC logo on the corner of the packaging, have gone on sale in all German branches of supermarket Lidl.Its launch means that the company has pipped Tetra Pak to bring a one-litre FSC-certified aseptic carton to market.

via SIG pips rivals to produce first one-litre aseptic FSC carton | packagingnews.co.uk. Ben Bold

Well it looks as though Walmart is keeping up the pressure on the industry to improve its environmental performance, which is not a bad thing if it helps saves the planet and makes everyone in the supply chain more aware of their responsibilities.  Walmart announced they will be asking their suppliers 15 simple questions (see below) about how they produced the product and packaging. The questions fall into 4 categories:

• Energy and Climate: Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Material Efficiency: Reducing Waste and Enhancing Quality
• Natural Resources: Producing High Quality, Responsibly Sourced Raw Materials
• People and Community: Ensuring Responsible and Ethical Production

This is an effort to help to create a sustainability index number to provide customers with product information in a simple, convenient, easy to understand rating, so they can make choices and consume in a more sustainable way.

So what does this mean to the packaging industry?

Those companies who design and develop packaging will need to know and understand these 15 questions and how they contribute to their customers’ answers as suppliers to Walmart.

Have a read and let us know what you think.

Thanks go out to Branding & Marketing Guru @chrisbrown330 for bringing our attention to this article

You can read Chris’ full article at: http://tinyurl.com/nvmwva

read more »

It’s good to see that consumers are thinking more about their carrier bag usage and there has been a HUGE voluntary reduction, so why is this being turned into a negative news story by the media (because it’s fallen short of the 50% target)? I also tend to agree with Barry Turner, chairman of the Carrier Bag Consortium, that this continuous focus on plastic carrier bags is taking everyone’s eyes off the ‘bigger picture’ and all of the other good work that has been done by supermarkets. After all, plastic carrier bags represent less than 1% of all household waste in the UK. So let’s get our priorities right guys and concentrate on the ’sharks’ and not the ‘minnows’. Chris Penfold

Supermarkets cut plastic bag use by 48%, says WRAP Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 17 July 2009

Carrier bag usage has almost halved in the past three years, according to new data from WRAP.

Read the full article here: Supermarkets cut plastic bag use by 48%, says Wrap | packagingnews.co.uk.

This article provides a fascinating insight into consumer behaviour. I think that it’s no surprise that ecological issues are higher on Consumers’ agenda but it’s interesting to read that “In 2008, 40% of UK respondents agreed that they seek alternative products if they believe their first choice to be packaged excessively” – I’m not sure that I believe that in reality – but I’m sure that it’s growing. Also interesting to read about the correlation of environmental issues and cost-optimisation being linked because of the ‘recession’.  We have certainly found this at Design Cognition.

Overall I believe that it’s certainly true that “consumer packaged goods companies should continue to evaluate their packaging in order to align themselves with an emerging consumer trend” – they ignore at their peril! Chris Penfold

Sustainable packaging trend gathering pace – A new report* from independent market analyst Datamonitor identifies sustainable packaging as a growing consumer issue, revealing that, although sustainable packaging is not yet a primary motivator of purchases, it is becoming a consumer expectation.

Sustainable packaging is one of a growing number of issues driven by ethics, economics and environmentalism. Economic imperatives, as well as possible greater regulation, mean that more brands need to consider adapting their present approach to accommodate sustainable packaging, comments Matthew Adams**, consumer analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.

Read the full article here on Bizcommunity: Sustainable packaging trend gathering pace.

Thanks to @packagingdiva and @NYDesign for bringing our attention to this article on Twitter

#retailers#ethical#cosmetics#toiletries

By Guy Montague-Jones, 22-Jun-2009

Boots has been accused of “turning its back on workers” after the health and beauty retailer pulled out of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).

The ETI aims to improve conditions and rights for workers and has built up a membership that includes 56 firms with a joint turnover of more than £100bn. NGOs and trade unions are also members and their job is to scrutinize company claims and ensure that they honour their ethical commitments.

read more »