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Catalent Pharma Solutions Inc. (Somerset, NJ) has partnered with TraceLink Inc. (Woburn, MA) to develop TraceLink’s supply chain collaboration solution with outsourcing manufacturers.
 
The TraceLink platform and software applications will provide customers with seamless data sharing and an environment for optimizing business processes, says Roy Satchell, senior vice president of information technology and chief information officer, Catalent.
 

DryKeep desiccating polymers from TricorBraun (St. Louis) can be incorporated into bottles and films to provide high moisture adsorption capacity and cost-effective manufacturing. Nutraceutical companies are using the desiccant entrained polymer technology in bottles, and in scoops delivered with powder concentrated mixes, says Jad Darsey, sales manager for strategic markets.

The 2009 Compliance Packages of the Year were announced by the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council at HCPC’s 18th Annual National Symposium on Patient Compliance. The awards consist of two categories: one for trade packages released in the past year and the other for innovative designs not yet used commercially.

In expanding healthcare coverage—and driving pharmaceutical use and spending—the healthcare reform act includes policies for containing costs and testing new models of healthcare practice and payments.

Labeling mandates that require more real estate, fierce competition for shoppers’ attention, and pharmacies’ preferences for efficient delivery of prescription information are among the factors that influence choices in cartoning and labeling.

Drug and device combination products often require advanced desiccant solutions to prevent physical and chemical degradation of the drug and preserve efficacy on the shelf and through use by the patient.

EMD Serono Inc.’s (Rockland, MA) development of secure supply-chain systems began in 2002 with pharmacist authentication of serialized packages of its human growth hormone drug Serostim.

Actavis Inc. is implementing the Inspect wt (web technology) inspection solution from Laetus Inc. for 100% inspection on liquid filling lines at its Lincolnton, NC, manufacturing facility. With the solution, Actavis is expanding the inspection functions performed on its lines. The goal is improving product quality, says Jason Grai, senior packaging engineer, Actavis.

As effective as end-of-the-line inspection solutions may be, in-process inspection provides cost and time saving advantages that manufacturers cannot afford to ignore. Easily scalable camera-based vision systems can be used at various stages of the packaging process, for example, to establish 100% inspection and improve process control.

Combination products offer therapeutic benefits to patients and help caregivers deliver treatments more efficiently. These advantages are driving growth in areas such as respiratory drug delivery systems and prefilled syringes, while spurring innovation in formats such as transdermal patches.