|
Covid-19 impact on pharma packaging paves way for sustainable & cost effective options: Hitesh Mehta
|
|
Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
January 17 , 2022
|
|
|
Covid-19 impact has created a demand for good quality packaging for Indian pharma as the pandemic raised concerns about the virus' ability to survive on packaging surfaces. The pandemic, which had resulted in nationwide lockdowns, had far-reaching financial impact on the pharma packaging market, in the early stages.
However, this paved the way for sustainable, cost effective and easy to transport packaging material, said Hitesh Mehta, country general manager, advanced materials, Honeywell.
India has a huge opportunity as a global pharma manufacturing hub, thereby generating demand for high performance and sustainable packaging, he added.
Moreover, pharma packaging encounters dual challenges of safe transportation and preserving the curative qualities of medicines. Hence, packaging must adhere to regulatory standards and provide safety from moisture, heat and spillage. Additionally, there is a global shift amongst pharmaceutical companies particularly in the EU and other regulated market for generics to opt for sustainable primary packaging materials. In light of this, PLA (Polylactic acid) packaging will be in demand as a sustainable blister packaging material because it consumes 65% less energy during production. There are also concerns about possible shortage of vials which may act as a logistical barrier in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, Mehta told Pharmabiz in an email.
Here Honeywell Aclar barrier technology as an industry leader and trusted choice in pharmaceutical packaging for over four decades has set global standards for high-barrier thermoform film with customizable thickness and size. Its optimized manufacturing process allows material source reduction, better efficiency and reduced waste, stated Mehta.
Further, Aclar has a lower environmental liability compared to Polyvinylidene dichloride (PVdC) which generates over 70x dioxins and dioxin-like compounds when incinerated. It offers 12% reduction in material compared to other mid-barrier thermoforming. There is 55% reduction in secondary packaging and transportation cost as compared to the same material packaged in Alu-Alu Packing. It contains upto 25% virgin reclaim material from its production processes. It has the highest moisture barrier of any clear thermoplastic film, bio-chemically inert, non-flammable and chemical-resistant. Since 2012, the carbon footprint of Aclar portfolio improved by over 50% and over a five-year period, waste from the film production is reduced by 29%, proving it is sustainable.
Indian pharma packaging market expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% between 2021 to 2026 is driven by a growing population, rising health awareness and increasing life expectancy. In sync with the Union government’s self-reliance efforts with Atmanirbhar, the company’s global packaging laboratory at the Honeywell India Technology Center (HITC) in Gurgaon, Haryana develops novel technologies for pharmaceutical packaging and also assists its regional partners with required technical support. HITC’s innovation is critical to manufacture products ranging from nylon to computer chips and pharmaceutical packaging which also helps India achieve self-sufficiency in a niche area of application, he said.
Honeywell hopes to serve Indian pharma export companies. “Since we are a proven packaging partner from design through production and launch. Aclar ultra-high barrier films are used for moisture sensitive applications for stability study approvals set forth by ICH. These include Aclar Accel 1700, which is an alternative to High Barrier (HB) PVdC, Aclar UltRx 2000 and UltRx 3000 barrier film for the pharmaceutical and medical devices. The product line also has ultra-high barrier bottles and vials, ultra-high and high barrier films and moisture barrier films, said Mehta.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOPICS
|
That foods might provide therapeutic benefits is clearly not a new concept. ...
|
|
|
|
|