Pharmapack Europe 2021 announces Awards winners!

Awards showcased a wide range of industry-changing innovations in packaging and drug delivery, with sustainability emerging as a key metric across all categories

Awards host David McClelland said the Pharmapack Europe 2021 Awards presented a great opportunity to bring together the packaging and drug delivery community across the globe, not only to celebrate the wins against adversity over the last year and a half but also to discuss the wealth of creative ideas that continues to drive the industry onwards.

“Our expert jury had some fascinating entries to assess; each seeking to improve patient experience and adherence, reduce environmental impact and manage healthcare costs - these are the innovations and developments bringing real change to patient’s lives and we commend you all,” he said.

In the Exhibitor Awards category, exhibitors were able to present their latest innovations in proof of concept or prototype stage which were recently launched or patented since January 2020 in four sub-categories.

1. Routes of Administration (recognising innovative approaches to safe and efficacious drug administration)

WINNER: EVEON with their Intuity® Spray, an innovative medical device offering a very accurate airless spray or mist delivery for liquids and gels dedicated to specific applications such as respiratory, dermatology and oral.

“It is our hope that this produce will help advance patient acceptance and experience. Thank you for this recognition!” EVEON said in response to their win.

2. Connected Devices & Wearables (recognising innovation in the development of connected devices, IoT applications and wearable technologies)

WINNER: Nemera with their Symbioze, an innovative, user-friendly and sustainable solution to self-inject a medication at home.

Pharmapack Jury member, Corinne Ondo Ngwa, Head of Sourcing Glass & Healthcare Innovation, Merck Group, said Symbioze was suitable for large volumes, and came in a disposable unit and a reusable system.

“The fact that it is designed to be used multiple times is also a cost advantage when expensive therapies are involved,” she said.

“We’re extremely pleased and proud to receive this Pharmapack award. Symbioze has really been designed from the start to accommodate a large range of drugs including biologics,” said Séverine Duband, Marketing Director for Drug Delivery Devices, Nemera.

3. Primary Packaging (recognising innovation in technologies, products, materials, and services relating to primary packaging solutions for finished drug forms which safeguard products from manufacture to point of use)

WINNER: ARaymondlife with their OR2Pack®, an innovative concept for the packaging of sterile implants.

The Pharmapack jury felt this entry was “interesting, clever and had a very good design” and crucially that it tackled an “unmet need”.

“The jury was looking for something original with an eco- and user-centric design which was also cost effective and if possible, that would allow some degree of flexibility or customisation,” said Ms Ondo Ngwa. “We had several entries which could fit many of those criteria but we felt this submission was the closest one to our goals.”

"We developed OR2pack with the continuous support of customers deeply involved in the orthopedic industry," said ARaymondlife in response to winning the award. "Our objective was to create a new standard in the field of implant packaging, enabling a safe and easy transfer of implants in the sterile area of the operating room while ensuring a thorough traceability of the implant.

"We are confident that OR2pack, thanks to this recognition, will also become a new standard for packaging implants and will be widely adopted by the industry and the healthcare professional."

As this category was so competitive, the jury also gave a high commendation to another entry – Heinlein Plastik-Technik GmbH and their Flipdropper product.

4. Excellence in Packaging Sustainability (recognising innovation in technologies, products, materials, and services related to the promotion of sustainable primary, secondary or tertiary packaging solutions for finished drug forms which safeguard products from manufacture to point of use)

WINNER: Hoffmann Neopac AG for their recyclable Polyfoil® Mono-Material Barrier Tube, offering superior protection to pharma formulations and particularly relevant to the oral care sector.

The jury felt the winner in this category made a “real effort to propose a recyclable packaging versus established standards.”

“I hope this award delivers as a role model or a hint to the whole pharmaceutical market that we open up a new sector now with pharmaceutical packaging recognised as needing to be recyclable,” said Peter Bossert, Project Lead – Material Development, Hoffmann Neopac, after receiving the award.

Pharmapack Awards host David McClelland reveals this year's winners

Health Product Awards

Pharmapack invited innovative packaging or drug delivery entries from pharmaceutical, veterinary, biopharma or OEM companies who have received marketing authorisation from a qualified national authority for a newly commercialised medicinal product after December 2019.

Professor Philippe Arnaud, AP-HP & ANSM Expert, Hospital Pharmacist and President of the Pharmapack Healthcare Products Jury Board said the category showcased the fantastic world of synergy between packaging laboratories and pharmaceutical companies: "Many interesting innovations were submitted this year despite the ongoing COVID situation, demonstrating the industry’s commitment to developing solutions for the betterment of patients."

1. Eco-Design (recognising innovation in sustainable design, with emphasis on single origin materials, recyclability and a reduced carbon footprint of all materials)

WINNER: UCB Pharma for their CIMZIA 2x200MG SYRINGE MAINTENANCE KIT, developed for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, incorporating new and innovative packaging features that shift the paradigm of pharmaceutical packaging based on actionable insights collected –focusing on package size, recyclability, sustainability and waste.

The Jury felt UCB’s entry provided a “nice overview of their eco-design approach, which clearly identified and quantified each specific environmental benefit associated with the new packaging design.”

2. Patient-Centric Design (recognising innovative approaches in preventing dosage errors, improving adherence and improving the safety and ease of use for patient or care giver)

WINNER: Abbott Healthcare Pvt Ltd for their AcuDose®, an innovative and unique measuring cap which dispenses an accurate daily dose of Vitamin D.

The jury felt that Abbott’s entry presented a “safe, simple, easy to use solution” that would have the biggest impact on patient adherence.

“I’d like to thank each member of the Abbott team who contributed to this innovation especially the commercial team based out of Mumbai – they’ve done a great job in commercialising the product and making it available to patients,” said Rajesh Mishra, Head – Packaging Development, Abbott Healthcare in response to winning the award.

The jury were so impressed with the highly innovative nature of one particular entry, they decided to add a brand new category:

3. Animal Health

WINNER: Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica for their Aservo® EquiHaler®, which allows veterinarians and horse owners to treat severe equine asthma and represents the first worldwide registered drug delivery device product for treatment of horses by inhalation.

The jury were impressed with the innovative nature of the device and its sustainable development approach.

“Compliance in animal health is a challenge particularly with large animals and for asthmatic treatments,” said Professor Arnaud.

“This is a great acknowledgement and reward for what we have tried to achieve over the last couple of years, which is to make the lives of horses and horse owners better,” said Dr Martin Folger, Principle Fellow CMC Expert & Risk Management, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica.

"Pharmapack Europe would like to thank and congratulate all companies who submitted entries for these highly competitive categories and also our expert panel of Jury members, who have generously given their time and insights to select this year’s winners," said Tara Dougal, Head of Content & Insights – Pharma, Informa Markets.

Watch this year's Awards ceremony on-demand now