More than just a peccadillo

An unwanted pregnancy in Brazil “thanks” to a counterfeit contraceptive pill, drinking water in Nigeria contaminated with meningococcal vaccine and 59 children dead in Haiti after being treated with counterfeit cough medicine: These are just three examples of the dire consequences that drug piracy can have. And the list goes on and on. Yet the case of the cough medicine alone would be enough to show that what we are talking about here is certainly no peccadillo. What is at issue has long been far more than how best to avert the financial losses such piracy causes. According to some estimates, counterfeit medication results in some 100,000 deaths a year in China alone!

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around seven percent of all drugs sold are actually fakes. The range includes both unpacked original products, sold as bulkware and then packed in counterfeit packaging, to products that are complete fakes. There are no limits to what counterfeiters are capable of. At last, however, it seems that a concerted effort is now being made to put a stop to this practice. The public has been made aware, and the authorities are increasing the pressure on industry to take action. Industry, for its part, is adopting various measures aimed at protecting itself more effectively against product piracy, the pharmaceutical industry as always playing a pioneering role. One crucial way of ensuring a product’s originality is packaging, which is why this year’s interpack, the world’s largest packaging fair to be held in Düsseldorf/Germany from 21 to 27 April, presents an ideal opportunity to find out about the latest developments in brand protection.

Packaging technologies are also the main topic of this issue. The article on page 10, for example, is about patient safety and describes the quality standards that drug packaging will have to meet in future. Another important topic at interpack will be the packaging process itself. While visitors to the Düsseldorf fair will be able to see the latest packaging machines in action, our readers can get a glimpse of many of the fair’s highlights long before interpack even opens. Page 14, for example, features the world’s fastest thermoformer, which can
produce 1300 blisters per minute. Those interested in optimizing throughput should also take a look at the plant on page 18, which combines thermoforming, filling and sealing, all in a single machine. According to the manufacturer, this plant eliminates one of the main weaknesses of existing processes, which all too often consist of a chain of different packing line components.

-Dr. Jörg R. Kempf-