Patient centricity and innovation a winning formula at packaging awards

Packaging innovation shows a clear focus on patient compliance and ease-of-use.

In the Exhibitor Innovation category, there were three winners with Biocorp, West Pharmaceutical Services, and sfm medical devices chosen for excellence in ‘Patient safety and convenience’, ‘Ease-of-use and patient compliance’, and ‘Patient centricity and customisation’, respectively. However, because of the sheer breadth of innovations within this category, the judges felt compelled to commend a list of ‘Top 10 Innovators’.

Biocorp received the Exhibitor Innovation award for ‘Patient safety and convenience’ for Onejet, the first motor driven disposable autoinjector, compatible with standard primary containers (PFS from 1 mL to 2.25 mL), designed to easily deliver high viscosity products.

Winner of the Exhibitor Innovation award for ‘Ease-of-use and patient compliance’, West Pharmaceutical Services’ SelfDose Patient-Controlled Injector is a simple two-step operation, designed to make administration far easier for patients with dexterity challenges. The patient only has to remove the cap and press against the skin to deliver a subcutaneous injection, and audible and visual end-of-dose indicators confirm successful administration of a prescribed dose.

The nextaro by sfm medical devices GmbH was bestowed the Exhibitor Innovation award for ‘Patient centricity and customisation’. nextaro is the quality benchmark for reconstitution of lyophilized pharmaceutical components. The product works using a patented screw system and optimises handling through the use of two plastic components. This construction means it is especially suitable for people with physical disabilities.

In total, there were 22 cutting-edge exhibitor products displayed in the Innovation Gallery. The remaining innovators in the Top 10 were Perlen Converting AG’s PERLAMED-BLISTair; Gerresheimer’s Gx InnoSafe; Nemera’s e-Advancia®; Schott AG’s iQ; Baswen Inc.’s Pharma Adherence IoT Pack; Cambridge Design Partnership’s Dialog User Insights Research Toolkit, and PLASTIFRANCE’s JUST’ADOSE & JUST'ADOSE+.

In the Health Product category, three winners received recognition: UCB Pharma, GSK Consumer Health and Laboratoires Virbac.

The CIMZIA Pack of 2 AutoClicks Prefilled Pens by UCB Pharma was recognised for its feats in patient compliance with a packaging system that puts rheumatoid arthritis patients and others with hand dexterity issues at the forefront. The pen has a button-free delivery system and a wide non-slip grip, with new elements that help to improve patient compliance including a large viewing window and a clicking sound at the start and end of a full dose injection.

GSK Consumer Health’s Voltaren « No Mess » applicator was distinguished as a winner for its improvements in patient hygiene and adherence. The packaging enables consumers to directly apply the pain relief gel without having to touch it – which is both more practical and hygienic as consumers do not have to wash their hands post-application.

Laboratoires Virbac was awarded for its unique and innovative All in One Contactless Multidose Delivery Cap, the only “all-in-one” solution for the application of liquid products for both the animal and human health markets.