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The wholistic view
Since the boom in the Indian pharma industry, little emphasis
has been put on the product packaging. However, now as pharmacos adopt FMCG
models, packaging takes centre stage. Sapna Dogra explores
 Pharma
packaging has undergone a sea change in the past few years, coming out with
solutions that are consumer friendly besides being safe and aesthetic. From
loose packing, strip packing and blister packing to Alu packing, there's a wide
range of packaging options available now, be it in plastic, glass, aluminium,
PET bottles or paper. Thus, it is no surprise, that the pharma packaging industry
in India is considered a sunrise industry, worth about Rs 25,000 crore and growing
at a rate of 12-14 percent annually.
Latest developments
The pharmaceutical packaging industry has come up with a number of innovations,
for example, blister technology, PET bottles, alu-alu and security packaging
and holograms, which have emerged as effective solutions. Security packaging
and holograms help prevent counterfeiting. In the future, machinery development
will play a key role in the pharma packaging industry, to pack exact dosage
and drugs specific to individual needs, because consumers today are aware and
demand better products and services.
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| Company |
Product |
| Bilcare |
Polymer barrier film |
| Ajit Mittal Corporation |
Labels and cartons |
| Truepack |
Novel drug delivery packaging |
| Packolabel Systems |
Primary and secondary packaging solutions |
| Hindal, India Foil, PG Foils |
Aluminium packaging |
| Vikram Glass, Hindustan Glass, Borosil |
Glass |
| Positive Packaging, Essel Packaging, ITP Noida |
Paper cartons |
Poised for growth
According to AA Joshi, Head, Training and Education, Indian Institute of Packaging,
Mumbai, the Indian pharma packaging industry is almost on a par with the developed
industry barring a few challenges like packaging of micro-dosages. KM Khanna,
MD, Shree Naina Containers, which manufactures PET bottles and jars for storing
oral liquids for big pharma companies like Cipla agrees, "The industry
is growing fast because now better quality technology is available and new machines
have come in."
Even so, Ajit Mittal, Proprietor, Ajit Mittal Corporation,
which specialises in secon-dary packaging with paper labels and cartons, laments
that the pharma industry hasn't yet realised the importance of packaging, which
in essence is part of the medicine. As a result, the pharma industry has grown
at a very fast pace but the packaging industry has lagged behind. "If a
drug is important, its packaging is equally important," he says. The pharma
industry must realise that pharma packaging is an important quality component
of the product. Neelkant Bakshi, MD, Packo-label Systems, which offers primary
and secondary packaging solutions says, "India is doing fine but where
volumes are concerned we are unable to keep up due to lack of machinery and
technical knowledge." Therefore, pharma packaging companies should be updated
with technological advances, and packaging innovation must be encouraged and
initiated, he adds. Every formulation is unique, and requires unique packaging
to ensure that the drug is safe and protected against inclement climatic conditions.
Packaging is not just about wrapping medicine in attractive, colourful packs,
but is essential to prevent adulteration, help in easy identification, and handling
by the end users (by virtue of being elder friendly, child resistant, and controlled
dosage).
| Bar codes can be very effectively used to track distribution
of drugs in the marketplace and recall them if necessary. They also assist
in effectively monitoring stock and consumption in hospitals. According
to Ravi Mathur, CEO, GS1 India, the US is a major buyer of medicines and
medical products and effective April 2004, Indian exporters have to incorporate
bar codes on their export supplies to meet the USFDA directive. "Though
big pharma companies are already using GS1 bar codes based on country or
buyer requirements, the exercise should start for the domestic industry
also," adds Mathur. |
Quality norms
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Since consumer safety is of utmost
importance, expiry date and information about the medication are some
important components to be taken care of
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Facilities manufacturing pharma packaging have to fulfill
stringent norms, especially for the primary packaging, says Joshi. Since consumer
safety is of utmost importance, issues like expiry date, manufacturing date
on the pack, right packaging, child resistant packaging, information about the
medication are some important components to be taken care of at the primary
packaging units. Also, companies have to follow international standards of hygiene,
qualification and competency level of workers, and record keeping besides following
GMP guidelines. According to Joshi, these are more stringent than for pharma
products. "Secondary and tertiary packaging primarily cover the warehousing
and distribution areas. Therefore not much attention is paid to them, which
is unfortunate," rues Mittal and adds that though there are guidelines
no one follows them.
Quality control
"Quality checks are done on raw material like foils, ink, adhesives and
polymers which continue through the primary and secondary packaging stages,"
informs Joshi. The units should conform to cGMP and clean room facility norms
and IP and USP regulatory norms. "There is regulation for product packaging
and labelling; however, there are no standards for labels," says Mittal.
Just like the container and products, labels and leaflets are also of utmost
importance. The label and leaflet serves the purpose of informing the patient,
the pharmacist, the distribution channel and manufacturer.
editorial@expresspharmaonline.com
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