Innovative therapeutics require innovative packaging solutions - Pharmapack 2023 preview

CPHI Online catches up with Pharmapack 2023 Premium Partner BD Medical to discuss how the pressures of a changing healthcare environment has demanded innovations within the pharmaceutical packaging sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how accelerated innovative drug development programs can directly respond to global health crises. However, an oft overlooked part of these programs is how these therapeutics are delivered to healthcare providers and their patients, including their storage and their administration.

As part of Pharmapack 2023, we discuss with Beth DiLauri, WW Director, Portfolio Marketing at BD Medical – Pharmaceutical Systems, why innovative pharmaceutical packaging solutions are an essential part of delivering equally innovative drugs and therapeutics to those that need them most.

As a Premium Partner for Pharmapack 2023, in what therapeutic areas do you predict a boom in innovation for pharmaceutical packaging?

There is an increasing number of biologics in development for the treatment of complex and costly chronic diseases or cancers. For us at BD, this underscores a dire need to accelerate innovation for injection technologies to give patients and their caregivers the ability to administer these promising new treatments.

As of right now, what are the biggest considerations for pharmaceutical players when it comes to packaging?

Right now, we know that our pharmaceutical customers are looking to optimize the sustainability, traceability, and connectivity of drug delivery. We want to be their partner of choice in these areas and BD has already made significant investments and demonstrated commitments in these areas.

Additionally, with the increasing number of high dosage, high volume, and high viscosity formulations in development, these can create usability challenges due to various factors including user capabilities, injection time, and force requirements. It’s an exciting time for the industry, and BD is integrating all these dynamic needs and requirements into our portfolio with high volume and high viscosity solutions for biologic therapies while reliably delivering positive user experiences demanded by our customers and their patients.

We have also observed that the advent of global vaccination campaigns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the mRNA technology revolution. This brought with it the need for containers that can support highly sensitive compounds, including the ability to handle deep-freezing temperatures for stability.

What can we expect from BD in pharmaceutical packaging for 2023?

We will leverage our innovative solutions and services supported by a deep understanding of the drug development process and key objectives at each stage to help meet the needs of our customers. We offer new innovations including the BD Effivax™ Glass Prefillable Syringe for vaccine delivery, our newest innovation for vaccines, as well as our wearable, on-body injectors such as the BD Libertas™ Wearable Injector and BD Evolve™ On-body Injector** supporting subcutaneous delivery of biologics. In addition to these new innovations, BD offers a complete range of services across BD Pharmaceutical Services and Solutions and ZebraSci, a BD company, Combination Product Services to help pharma and biotech companies achieve their combination product development goals.

You can also expect BD to bring a new level of transparency and enthusiasm to our strategic partnerships as we bring innovations to the market.

How do events such as Pharmapack allow BD to achieve their business and healthcare goals?

Events such as Pharmapack allow BD to meet with representatives from pharmaceutical and biotech companies and align our most pressing needs to meet the future of drug delivery. Pharmapack always provides a timely opportunity to share information about our extensive range of products and services, the challenges of combination product development, and the parameters involved in selecting delivery systems for high dose volumes and viscosities. We are excited to share this information through learning labs, workshops, and panel discussions, reinforcing our commitment to drug delivery excellence and customer success.

Any further comments?

With an expanding portfolio of containers, secondary devices, and services, BD Medical - Pharmaceutical Systems is committed to drug delivery excellence across the therapeutic areas we serve, and to supporting our customers in maximising efficiency in manufacturing operations and combination product development. We are passionate about partnering with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to help achieve their goals and improve the patient experience with a broad range of drug delivery solutions and services. We are focused on exceeding the demands of the current prefillable syringe market through significant capacity investments, while delivering meaningful innovations that address new drug delivery needs and new therapies, such as high-volume and high-viscosity drugs, in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. 

At BD we continue our relentless commitment for a promising future by developing technologies, services, and products so we can help the healthcare community improve safety and increase efficiency to achieve our ultimate goal: Advancing the World of Health™.

*BD Evolve™ On-body Injector is a product in development; some statements are forward-looking and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. BD Evolve™ On-body Injector is a device component intended for drug–device combination products and not subject to FDA 510(k) clearance.

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