Products can be tracked and patient experience improved with the use of smart packaging. The food and beverage industries, where it is already widely used, help cut down on waste. Intelligent packaging is another example of smart packaging technologies beneficial to the retail and automotive industries. If one wants to work in the pharma industry, one should know how these new technologies are affecting the pharma sector.
Desiccants, for example, are examples of active packaging that perform a physical purpose. More medications with high moisture sensitivity are being developed, which means desiccants will be used more frequently in the business going forward. Active packaging can also include colour-changing print that detects and signals abnormally high or low product temperatures.
In the world of packaging, information is at the heart of everything. Both QR codes and Near Field Communication (NFC), which allow items within proximity to communicate with each other, are good examples of this. To track and increase patient compliance, these features include reminders for when patients should take their prescriptions.
Counterfeit prevention in pharma industry
Unfortunately, there is a sizeable global market for fake medication. These are illegally created medications that are disguised to look like licensed pharma. Toxic quantities of active chemicals or a lack of the necessary elements might make them extremely deadly. The usage of these fake medications is a leading cause of illness and death.
Smart packaging can incorporate holograms and micro texts to combat counterfeit medications. Holographic technology is continually improving, making it extremely difficult for counterfeiters to copy them on the packaging. If you don’t have specific equipment, you can’t read micro text. Aside from being invisible to the human eye, it also helps prevent counterfeiting.
Smart packaging allows for full supply chain transparency
Embedded, printable tracking can be used in smart packaging to track a product from production all the way to market. By examining the data generated by this technology, it is possible to learn about the product’s storage and handling temperatures and roughness. Maintaining product quality and safety is improved as a result of smart packaging.
It may be costly to research and develop innovative packaging methods, but the rewards will far surpass the expenditures in the long run. Naturally, smart packaging technology facilitates a 360-degree supply chain view, speeding up the distribution process at a time when criminal networks are increasingly capable of intercepting goods and peddling counterfeits. It can also aid with serialisation by using smart packaging. Serial numbers are easily tracked during distribution, making it easy to identify lost shipments. In addition, smart packaging improves the patient experience and allows care to be decentralised. Patients are receiving better support, and seeing improved health results.
As with every new technology, there are advantages and disadvantages. There is a significant risk to the widespread adoption of smart technologies if networks are vulnerable. We are also dealing with sensitive data when it comes to medications, as well.
Way ahead
The adoption of smart packaging options has been slow, but there is definitely a growing interest. As more businesses begin to embrace what smart packaging solutions have to offer, we should begin to see a future where hassle-free operations can be realised. The industry is already trialling a variety of digital solutions and slowly beginning to see the value in them. As more and more pharmaceuticals take advantage of this possibility, adoption will rise, and patients and practitioners will take advantage of what more digitised packaging has to offer.
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