Three ways smart packaging is solving pharma’s distribution challenges

As supply chains strain, the need for products to remain safe and usable – especially during a healthcare crisis – represents a timely challenge. This requires creative solutions.

Geopolitical conflicts, extreme climate events and increased demand continue to soar, all of which are having an impact on pharma supply chains. To tackle these, the pharma sector is turning to smart packaging to manage its distribution challenges for vaccines, medicines and other temperature-sensitive products.

Smart packaging can help to protect the integrity of drug products while meeting regulatory requirements, so they reach patients safely without losing their efficacy.

New solutions to meet growing demand

Increased demand for cold-chain products has forced the pharmaceutical supply chain to develop innovative solutions. Beyond the pandemic, supply chain issues such as managing regular temperature excursions during product transport and cutting costs remain at the forefront of pharma companies’ minds.

Investments from logistics companies to help them build out their cold-chain storage and distribution capabilities have proved key to successful vaccine rollouts in many regions of the world, fueling process improvements throughout the supply chain.

This is increasingly important due to expanding regulatory requirements, aimed at preventing counterfeit medication entering the supply chain, an issue also extenuated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

An example of a specialized solution is Johnson & Johnson’s use of security seals on vaccine boxes and traceability measures on vials. Vials can be equipped with black-light verification to curb counterfeiting, while smart labels provide time-temperature indicators that react to heat and time.

Pharma businesses must also prioritize sustainability, something that will help them operate more efficiently. In Pharma Logistics IQ’s report on how pre-qualified packaging increases speed-to-market, Ruud van der Geer, Associate Director Global Delivery Strategy Team and EMEA Product Handling Lead at MSD, states: “Increasing the focus on issues such as sustainability and re-use will allow companies to transition to higher-end solutions.”

Streamlined, smart packaging solutions

Throughout the pharma supply chain, the use of products such as pre-qualified thermal packaging can provide pharma leaders with clear market advantages, giving medicine or vaccine manufacturers the ability to create wider choices of products able to meet the personalized needs of customers.

Those selecting packaging that prolongs a product’s life stand to benefit commercially due to increased temperature-controlled distribution process efficiency and simplified designs.

In our report, Richard Harrop, Product Director at thermal packaging solution manufacturer Topa Thermal, describes pre-qualified thermal packaging as a ready-to-go solution, usually developed and qualified by a thermal packaging provider. These companies compile all parts of the final product, from design and testing, through to qualification and supply.

“The main benefit of these products is in what they offer users who don’t want to go down the custom development route, but do want something that works for them immediately,” Harrop claims.

In addition, pre-configured solutions for labelling and artwork that meet regulatory requirements are also available. These can streamline the process of submitting labelling content for regulatory approval, while ensuring information is accurate.

Working collaboratively

By encouraging all stakeholders to work together, challenges within the pharma supply chain can be overcome and products with short shelf lives can find their way to their destinations in the shortest possible time.

By selecting the right packaging partners, pharma companies and their 3PL partners can enable process improvements, resulting in competitive advantage and fewer supply chain strains.

The innovation in packaging that resulted from collaboration between various stakeholders allowed Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to last for up to 30 days in boxes that only require the dry ice to be replenished every five days.

Van de Geer says: “There is a lot of value in pre-qualified systems if these meet the supplier requirements. There is a need for industry and regulatory acceptance of standards and virtual data-collection via simulations.

“In 99.9 percent of cases, however, if a solution meets the standard requirements, it will be an external factor that drives performance.

“The risk is not always in the packaging solutions, but rather in external factors such as services, transport agreements, communication and disruptions It is key to manage these well otherwise any solution will fail.

“To overcome supply chain challenges, one must make sure to undersell and overdeliver, because it will be an even more monumental task if suppliers cannot deliver what has been agreed.”

Quick links:

• Read our full report on how pre-qualified packaging increases speed to market
• Register to watch Solve the labeling artwork puzzle
• Top trends shaping pharma supply chains in 2022

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