Leading fibre-based packaging provider Graphic Packaging International (GPI) revealed its latest pharmaceutical pack serialisation solution at this year’s CPHI (Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients) in Frankfurt.
GPI’s solution, developed following its acquisition of AR Packaging in 2021, provides the pharma industry with a versatile packaging serialisation solution that can accommodate longer or more complex coding requirements.
This means it can create everything from EU codes to C128 barcodes for the Chinese market, and answer latest drug traceability specifications that were released at the end of June 2022.
GPI has adapted its production capabilities to ensure it can smoothly transition into this new coding requirement. In addition, each code it produces complies with the highest print quality and readability standards with a high-contrast, high-resolution code that ensures optimal scanner legibility.
“The increasing availability of counterfeit medications and other healthcare products is a real threat to patient safety around the world, and an effective serialisation solution is more vital now than ever before,” explained Erwin Klunder, head of sales for healthcare at GPI.
“Our solution is compatible with a wide range of code specifications – even country-specific formats, such as Italian Bollini labels and RFID applications.
“A truly state-of-the-art solution, it gives contract manufacturers and packers the flexibility to include any code format printed either onto the label or directly onto open or pre-glued packaging.
“All of this is carried out at our facility, easing the pressure on other parts of the supply chain by integrating into existing processes, with no additional CapEx investment required.”
The innovative feature prevents duplicates from occurring, ensuring maximum process reliability and pharma-compliant data handling.
Its flexibility provides compliance assurance for any coding laws or regulations around the world, and it allows pharma companies to meet ever-evolving market and legislative demands.
“We demonstrated at CPHI how our unyielding commitment to patient safety drives us to create innovative solutions for the pharma sector,” Klunder added.
“We look forward to sharing more about this highly efficient integrated process that takes our pharma customers from production to serialisation. It’s a complete end-to-end pharmaceutical packaging solution.”
The latest development by GPI comes as lawmakers around the world introduce traceability legislation to clamp down on counterfeit healthcare products and improve patient safety.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates one in 10 medical products in developing countries are substandard or falsified.
Recent EU legislation – the Falsified Medicine Directive – mandates that every prescription medication pack must contain traceable technology, while markets such as China have also introduced its own traceability regulations and standards.
