The pharma industry is one of the most influential industries of all. It simply turns up the fact that it has been pharma that has always come ahead to help the ill and some without hope. The illnesses like malaria and dengue were epidemics once but have taken many lives in the lower branches of society. People have recovered and walked healthy from hospitals because the industry supplies regularly and cautiously. If a medicine were to malfunction it would be the blame on the medicine suppliers’ part. But, we cannot blame the people that are betrayed by incorrect information and human errors. Which is why the pharmaceutical industry changes, to match the needs of the consumers and medical frontline workers.
With pharmaceuticals, pills, liquid medicine, etc. are all manufactured and tested all under controlled environments. The haphazard handling begins when the pills leave the labs. In that situation, the only thing protecting the medicine from altering and the patient from getting an infected dose is the packaging.
The world is moving towards an era with smarter surroundings (smart cars, smart homes, smart toilets, etc.) and smarter devices. The digital thermometer was just an onset of the engineering possibilities and we stand at robotic surgery for all less complex surgical tasks. With things growing smarter and convenient, pharmaceutical packaging too will have to move beyond packing medicines to transport. All users have different needs and the market has an upward turn of demand. The pharmaceutical market is predicted to reach a worth of 144.23 billion USD worldwide. Here’s how pharma is evolving for the digital world.
Evolving with New Challenges in the Industry
How do you always test the efficacy of a medicine? You put it to test among a calculated number of patients in a controlled environment while knowing their exact daily activity. But the world is 7 billion and there are always anomalies in nature. And if the drug is new, more so. One underlying condition is not diagnosed and there might be serious issues. So how do we get information about a medicine malfunctioning? Integrating the packaging with a smart QR Code and turning it online for recognition. Allowing tracking, supply chain control and patient adherence through phones.
Smart packaging is basically the use of technology to keep an eye over the whole life cycle of the product from inventory to the retailer to the users. It can also be used to aid people working in the medical field and patients at home to use the medicine correctly and in adherence to dosage.
As the market grows more people jump in only with the want of money. Smart pharmaceutical packaging allows stakeholders to overcome multiple struggles through this complex market. Now with COVID-19 and globalization, there are a lot of emerging economies and markets that will have competitors and worse, counterfeits. With the fast paced expansion time of the pharma industry, the increasing international regulations require smarter techniques to prove efficiency and patient centered approach of the product line.
Developments in Smart Packaging
In pharmaceutical packaging the calendarised blister packaging has been an achievement. But in smart packaging of products, there can be two things the packaging will do. Active packaging which can keep the product efficient for use while improving dispensing or packaging that can gather data about the product and its functionality in the market.
The most efficient benefit of smart packaging and Internet of Things is the communication that can be laid between the patient and the healthcare provider. Especially during the pandemic, this technology is being used to decentralize the test being conducted with the subjects being in their initial environment. Most of it is made possible with the use of wearable health bands. Which allows the healthcare provider to track the heart rate and pulse, temperature, blood oxygen levels, breathing rate, and even some brain activity. Making such data available in real life can be a bridge to quicker medical help and efficiency of treatment.
A lot of medicine packaging integrated with QR codes also gives the user important information about the usage and cautions about using an over the counter medicine. It can also be synced with the smart health device to initiate dosage reminders and track changes in the body before and after taking medication.
With enhanced features in packaging safety and child resistance cannot be in the shadows. Smart packaging is under development for RFID Chip based packaging that can work on microbatteries and refills. These blister packs can be directly connected to the smartwatch or health band. If the packaging senses shock it will alert the patient to make sure the medicine wasn’t altered. Whenever a blister is opened, the chip will alert the patient so that the medicine doesn’t get in the hands of a child.
Smart Packaging Benefits for Stakeholders
Smart packaging might be looking like an expensive deal with the R&D budget but in the long term, with the advantages it provides the stakeholders can get to a point where complaints halt and patients are happy. With smart packaging integrated into the system, the stakeholders can have a 360° view and control over the whole operation. From testing to supply and back to efficiency ratings, there is a lot of potential in product development and word of mouth marketing.
When smart packaging connects the healthcare providers and patients, both their lives become easy. Along with improved adherence to dosages fixed by the doctors, smart packaging can improve patient information or provide feedback on improvement if possible. The more informed the patient, the lesser the accidents and fatalities will be with wrong or accidental dosages.
There might certainly be drawbacks in the initial stages like data theft and counterfeiting, but smart packaging is soon going to be integrated with perennial or remote encryption which can prevent personal or confidential patient data from being used for criminal purposes. As the future moves faster, you too need to be fast for your demandees. Packaging solutions can be made easier with Accupack.
