Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News

June 1998 PMP News
Selected Contents

OUR VIEW:
Branding OTC Products
To compete effectively with other OTC products, use packaging and labeling to build a memorable brand.

Calling All Stretch-Film Manufacturers and Users
FPA sponsors new council to foster voluntary standards and promote stretch film use. The council could make a packaging engineer's job easier.

SPOTLIGHT:
Unit-of-Use Packaging: The Wave of the Future?
by Greg Erickson

Drug repackagers and healthcare providers are fueling the growth of blisters and other unit-dose packages.

MEDICAL:
Validating Heat Sealers
by Daphne Allen

Industry groups, heat-sealer suppliers, and other experts can help packaging engineers meet FDA and ISO validation requirements.

PHARMACEUTICAL:
Integrating a Packaging Line
by Erik Swain

Integration can make the packaging process simpler or—if it's not done right—much more complicated.

PRODUCT UPDATE:
Contemporary Coders
Printers and laser markers can help packagers trace products from manufacture to end use.

High-Speed Tube Fillers
Automatic tube-filling systems help pharmaceutical packagers generate thousands of tubes per day.

Versatile Films
Films are helping packagers protect even the most intricate of products.

Sturdy Blister Materials
Blisters are fast becoming the packaging format of choice.

CASE HISTORY:
Coder Eases Device Tracking

A system for printing information on medical device packaging can handle a wide range of substrates and materials.

REGULATORY FOCUS:
Proposed Ruling Affects OTC Ophthalmic Drug Manufacturers

Complaints prompt FDA to consider requiring new warnings on product labeling.