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Report: Innovative New Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices at PACK EXPO Las Vegas

PMMI Media Group editors spread out across the many booths at PACK EXPO in Las Vegas to bring you this innovative report.Here’s what they see in the pharmaceutical and medical device categories.
As medical cannabis represents a segment of the rapidly growing cannabis market, we have chosen to include two innovative cannabis-related packaging technologies in the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices section of our PACK EXPO innovation report.Image #1 in article text.
A major challenge in packaging cannabis is that the weight variance of the empty cans is often greater than the total weight of the product being packaged.The Tare Total Weighing System eliminates any inconsistencies by weighing the empty jars and then subtracting the weight of the empty jars from the gross weight of the filled jars to determine the actual net weight of the product in each jar.
Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery Inc. introduced such a system using PACK EXPO Las Vegas.This is a fast and accurate cannabis filling system(1) that accounts for small fluctuations in the weight of glass jars, thus eliminating the problem of wasted product inaccuracy.
The system’s 0.01 g accuracy reduces costly product losses for 3.5 to 7 g fill sizes.Vibratory settling helps product flow into the container.The system rejects overweight and overweight.According to the company, the system integrates with a multi-head weigher to provide the fastest and most accurate filling of flower or ground cannabis on the market.
In terms of speed, the system is able to run faster than many manufacturers need.It accurately fills 1 gram to 28 grams per can of flower or ground cannabis at a rate of 40 cans/minute.
Image #2 in the article text.Additionally, this new cannabis filling system features a simple design that allows for thorough cleaning.The hygienic funnel and delivery system ensure quick-change hygienic filling, while the stainless steel frame and open base eliminate stash areas and allow easy cleaning.Tool-less, quick-change spiders and guides allow for quick product changes.
Orics has launched a new M10 machine (2) designed for a special child-resistant package that holds CBD-infused candy bars.Intermittent motion machines have two tools mounted on a turntable.The operator loads the thermoform into four cavities of a tool, and then places a candy bar in each cavity.The operator then presses two buttons to start the machine.The newly loaded tool is rotated to the evacuation, backflush and capping application station.When the cap is in place, the four-chamber tool rotates out of the sealing station, the operator removes the finished package, and the cycle repeats.
While most of this is a fairly conventional MAP procedure, what is remarkable about this application from an innovative standpoint is that the thermoformed PET container has left and right notches designed for insertion into a cardboard box. slot into which the primary packaging is inserted. The children cannot read the unpacking instructions on the carton, and because of the left and right notches on the primary packaging, they do not know how to pull the primary packaging out of the carton.A flap has also been designed at the top of the pack to further deter children from accessing the main pack.
A company called R&D Leverage showcased particularly clever tablet and capsule containers in the plastics category, the company mainly tool Image #3 in the article text.maker for injection, blow and injection stretch blow molding machinery.But it has now come up with a patent-pending injection stretch blow-molded bottle concept, called DispensEZ (3), with a sort of ramp on the inner sidewall where the shoulder meets the neck.So when you reach for a tablet or capsule from the inside, it slides straight out of the ramp rather than hanging on the inner shoulder.This is clearly aimed at the elderly and others whose dexterity makes dispensing of pills and tablets challenging at best.
Kent Bersuch, senior molding specialist at R&D Leverage, came up with the idea after finding himself frustrated with vitamins and medications piling up on the shoulders of bottles.”I end up dumping more pills than I want, or the pills will bounce off my hands and fall down the drain,” Bersuch said.”Ultimately, I heated a bottle with a heat gun and created a ramp on the shoulder of the bottle.” And so DispensEZ was born.
Keep in mind that R&D Leverage is a tool maker, so management has no plans to manufacture bottles on a commercial basis.Instead, CEO Mike Stiles said the company was looking for a brand that could buy or license the intellectual property behind the concept.”We have received numerous inquiries from potential clients who are currently evaluating our patent files and considering options,” Stiles said.
Stiles added that while the development of the DispenseEZ bottle relied on the use of a two-stage reheat and stretch blow molding process, the convenient dispensing function could also be incorporated into any of the following methods:
This feature is available in a variety of finish sizes (33mm and larger) and can be incorporated into containers with existing tamper-resistant or child-resistant requirements.
Secure sample transport is an important part of the healthcare business, but many portable carriers that protect temperature-sensitive samples are bulky and heavy.In a typical 8-hour workday, these can be taxing jobs for sales reps.Image #4 in article text.
At the Medical Packaging Expo, the CAVU Group presented its prote-go: a lightweight sample transport system (4) that protects temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals and medical devices from the first meeting of the day to the last.
The company developed the system to transport a variety of content — pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and other biomedical samples — with varying temperature requirements in all seasons.Weighing less than 8 pounds, it’s a lightweight product that’s easy for salespeople to carry.
The prote-go is a soft, leak-proof tote bag that can be personalised.”With more than 25 liters of payload space, the tote adds space for a laptop or other accessories,” said David Haan, CAVU Product Manager.“Best of all, the prote-go sample carrier does not require a lengthy or complex packaging and conditioning process. Because the system is designed with phase change materials, the system can be reset by simply storing the tote overnight, opening and at room temperature .”
Next we look at diagnostics, the demand for which has been skyrocketing.However, packaging diagnostic reagents can be challenging for a number of reasons:
• Strong agents can interact and even attack sealants used with traditional push-through foil options.
• Caps should be easy to pierce while providing a strong barrier.Equipment requires a high degree of repeatability.
• There is a wide range of materials used to make reagent wells, so the lid must fit into the container while still being able to seal to narrow sealing surfaces.
Paxxus’ AccuPierce Pierceable Foil Lid (5) is a composite material consisting of a highly controlled aluminum foil with Paxxus’ chemically resistant, high barrier Exponent™ sealant – which allows the passage of probes requiring low force in sensitive tests Needle for a clean, fast puncture environment.
Image #5 in article text.Designed for accuracy in diagnostic applications, it can be used as a cover or as a component of the device itself.
At PACK EXPO, Dwane Hahn explained a big reason why diagnostic innovation is booming.“COVID-19 is for the diagnostics industry what NASA is for materials science. When we try to put someone on the moon, a lot of innovation and funding is needed to support the creation of mission-critical materials, simply because a lot of the materials are not yet available was invented.”
While the emergence of COVID-19 is an undeniable tragedy, the byproduct of the pandemic is an influx of innovation and investment.“With COVID-19, the need to scale at unprecedented speed without sacrificing accuracy presents a number of challenges. Of course, to address these challenges, new ideas and concepts are generated as an inherent by-product. When this When the phenomenon occurs, the investment community takes notice, with funding available to both startups and large incumbents. This major investment will undoubtedly change the landscape of diagnostics, especially for companies that meet new consumer expectations for speed and the ability to test at home, ‘ said Hahn.
To meet these changing dynamics and market demands, Paxxus has developed caps for a wide variety of compounds, including dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) reagents, organic solvents, ethanol and isopropanol.
This product is versatile, heat sealable with the most common reagent well materials (polypropylene, polyethylene, and COC) and is compatible with a variety of sterilization processes.The company reports that it is “suitable for DNase, RNase, and human DNA applications.”"This is not the case with traditional push-on foil technologies that are not compatible with some sterilization processes.”
Sometimes in the life sciences, a solution suitable for small to medium output is very important.Some of these are Image #6 in the article text.on presented at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, starting with Antares Vision Group.The company presented its new standalone module for manual case aggregation at the Medical Packaging Expo (6).The system is also capable of supporting post-batch rework operations in warehouses and distribution centers, ideal for those looking to meet upcoming DSCSA supply chain security requirements with small to medium volumes that do not require full automation.
Aggregated products are a necessary prerequisite for sending aggregated data.A recent HDA Serialization Readiness Survey stated that “more than 50% of manufacturers plan to aggregate by the end of 2019 and 2020;” Fewer than half are now aggregating, and nearly 40% will do so by 2023 .That number is up from a quarter last year, suggesting companies have changed their schedules.”Manufacturers will need to implement systems quickly to comply with regulations.
Chris Collins, Sales Manager at Antares Vision Group, said: “The Mini Manual Station was developed with the limited space most packaging businesses deal with. Antares wanted to provide the market with a flexible and cost-effective solution through a compact design.”
According to Antares, based on a recipe for a specific situation—for example, the number of cartons per case—the Mini Manual Station aggregation unit emits the upper “parent” container label once a pre-set number of items has been scanned into the system. Image # 7 in the article text.
As a manual system, the unit is ergonomically designed with easy multi-point access and an always-on handheld scanner for fast, reliable code reading.Mini Manual Stations are currently operating in pharmaceutical, medical equipment and nutraceutical facilities.
The four benchtop machines that make up the Groninger LABWORX series (7) are designed to help pharmaceutical companies move from benchtop to market and meet the needs of R&D, clinical trials and compounding pharmacies.
The portfolio includes two liquid filling units – with peristaltic or rotary piston pumps – as well as stopper placement and crimping systems for vials and syringes.
Designed for “off the shelf” needs, these modules accommodate pre-fillable objects such as vials, syringes and cartridges, and feature short lead times and Groninger’s QuickConnect technology for faster turnaround times.
As groninger’s Jochen Franke explained at the show, these systems meet the market’s need for modern tabletop systems for a variety of applications, including personalized medicine and cell therapy.The system’s two-hand control means no guards are required, while the hygienic design makes cleaning quick and easy.They are designed for laminar flow (LF) enclosures and isolators and are highly resistant to H2O2.
“These machines are not cam driven. They are designed with servo motors and are more suitable for transfer to commercial production systems,” Franke said.He demonstrated the conversion at the booth, which took less than a minute.
Wireless control via a tablet or laptop helps eliminate extra personnel in the cleanroom, while providing connectivity from a single handheld device to one or more desktop systems.Easier access to data for analysis and decision-making.These machines have a responsive HTML5-based HMI design and provide automatic batch recording in the form of PDF files.Image #8 in article text.
Packworld USA debuts the new PW4214 Remote Sealer for Life Sciences (8), which includes a sealing head capable of accepting films up to approximately 13 inches wide and a split control cabinet with a touchscreen HMI.
According to Packworld’s Brandon Hoser, the machine was developed to fit a more compact sealing head into the glove box.“Separating the seal head from the controls/HMI allows the operator to control access outside the glove box while reducing the machine footprint inside the glove box,” Hoser said.
This compact seal head design is ideal for use in laminar flow cabinets.Easy-to-clean surfaces complement biologics and tissue applications, while Packworld’s touchscreen interface is 21 CFR Part 11 compliant.All Packworld machines are ISO 11607 compliant.
The Pennsylvania-based company notes that an important difference in Packworld’s heat sealers is that the TOSS technology used — called VRC (variable resistance control) — does not use thermocouples.Other heat sealers use thermocouples to measure and control the energy to heat the sealing tape, and the inherent slow nature of thermocouples, single measurement point, and nature of consumables can create consistency issues.The TOSS VRC technology “instead measures the resistance of the heat seal tape over its entire length and width,” Packworld says.”It knows how much resistance the tape needs to get to sealing temperature,” enabling fast, accurate, consistent heat sealing, which is critical for healthcare applications.
RFID for product traceability continues to gain traction in the life sciences and consumer goods sectors.Products are now touting high-speed applications that don’t interrupt production output.At PACK EXPO Las Vegas, ProMach brand WLS introduced its latest RFID tagging solution (9).The company has adapted its high-speed pressure-sensitive label applicator and label printer to use the new RFID technology for vials, bottles, test tubes, syringes and devices.The products shown at the show can also be used in industries other than healthcare for authentication and inventory control.
Image #9 in the body of the article.RFID tags are dynamic in that they can lock in selected variable data while allowing other variable data to be updated throughout the life of the product.While batch numbers and other identifiers remain the same, manufacturers and health systems benefit from dynamic product tracking and updates, such as dosage and expiration dates.As the company explains, “This simplifies inventory control for end users while providing manufacturers with product verification and authenticity.”
As customer needs vary from new labeler implementations to modular off-line options, WLS is introducing labelers, label application systems and print stands:
• RFID-Ready labelers use pressure-sensitive labels with RFID inlays embedded in transducers, while maintaining the integrity of the RFID chip and antenna.”RFID tags are read, written (encoded), locked or unlocked (as needed), authenticated, applied to the product, and re-authenticated (as needed),” the WLS reports.Variable data printing with vision inspection systems can be combined with RFID-Ready labellers.
• For customers who wish to keep their existing labels and incorporate RFID, WLS offers a flexible option in its RFID-enabled label application.The first label head releases the standard pressure sensitive label onto the vacuum drum, while the second label head synchronizes and centers the release of the wet RFID label onto the standard pressure sensitive label, enabling the vacuum drum to release the wet RFID label to the standard pressure sensitive label on the product Pressure sensitive labels.Encoded and authenticated wet RFID tags are combined with standard tags and applied to the product, with the option to re-authenticate if required.
• For an off-line solution, RFID-Ready Print Stands are designed to print on pressure-sensitive labels with RFID inlays embedded in converters.”Utilizing an offline, stand-alone, on-demand RFID-Ready Print Stand allows WLS customers to adopt RFID labels without changing or upgrading existing labelers,” the company said.”High-speed RFID-Ready Print Stands combine full label vision inspection with label rejection and verification to verify printed labels and encoded RFID labels.”
Peter Sarvey, Director of Business Development at WLS, said: “The adoption of RFID tags is being driven by pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers who want to offer improved traceability and product authentication, as well as end users who need products with dynamic fingerprints to track doses and inventory. .RFID tags are valuable to any industry interested in improving traceability and product authentication, not just hospitals and pharmacies.”


Post time: Apr-14-2022