Pharmaceutical tablets typically come packaged in bottles or blister packs. Selecting appropriate packaging can ensure your medication is safe, effective, and affordable for patients.
Glass tablet bottle packaging materials offer the lowest contamination risk but tend to be the most costly solution for single-use sterile preparations. At the same time, plastic bottles may prove cheaper but could react with certain drugs, presenting more risks of reactions with them than glass containers can.
Cost
Packaging your product can make or break its sales. Thankfully, various packaging solutions can help lower costs while increasing efficiencies across your production line.
An adequate packaging budget requires considering several elements, including the type of bottle, the material used and the package size produced. For example, bottles are cost-effective for large package counts, while blister packs work best when packaging smaller packages like pills or capsules.
Blisters have long been the go-to solution for tablet bottle packaging, providing a one-time dose that protects against contamination while increasing shelf life. In addition, each cavity of a blister pack helps shield its contents from outside elements.
Blisters can be made from various materials, including cold-form aluminium film and polyethylene (PE). Cold-form PE-laminated aluminium float is a packaging solution that effectively shields tablets from light, oxygen and moisture without impacting their effectiveness – the first version to become certified recyclable! Desiccant sachets also serve as antimicrobials that slow bacteria/fungus growth on medications taken multiple times simultaneously – an advantage to consumers taking multiple pills simultaneously, as well as manufacturers looking to reduce waste and lower environmental footprint.
Safety
Tablets must be taken as prescribed, so the bottle used to store them must be safe and durable. In addition, it must not interfere with or alter their function, effectiveness or safety; any chemicals present could introduce harmful toxins into a patient’s system.
Your tablets must be stored in packaging that protects them against light, moisture, air, oxygen, and temperature variations and remains airtight despite multiple opening/closing processes. The optimal packaging should ensure these conditions.
Drug manufacturers generally utilise three primary forms of packaging for their drugs: bottles, blister packs and strip packs. Blister packs offer high protection from light, oxygen and moisture exposure.
However, they are typically more cost-effective than bottles and can hold many pills simultaneously – however, they may not always be suitable for every product.
Many medications sold in bottles carry a high risk of abuse, so they must be stored safely to reduce drug diversion. According to FDA regulation, certain drugs should only remain in the bottle for one week at any given time.
When choosing the perfect packaging for your tablets, one crucial element is what type of plastic should make up its construction. Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are among the most frequently used plastic types – PE is more suited to liquid dosage forms than tablets and capsules.
PP, in contrast, offers excellent resistance to moisture and gas while being more versatile; it can be used for both liquids and tablets. Furthermore, its lower reactiveness makes it more compatible with some drugs than PE.
Strip packs, the third-most-common form of tablet packaging, consist of an aluminium-PE laminated film that provides a protective, moisture-proof layer to seal off tablets from oxygen and light while maintaining freshness.
Durability
Plastic bottles are one of the most widely-used packaging options for pharmaceutical products, offering durable yet cost-effective protection from raw material costs and storage fees while helping reduce environmental impact and protecting product integrity during transport. Pharma manufacturers looking to make the most of their packaging budget often opt for a combination of glass and plastic bottles to get maximum return for their money. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bottles are some of this sector’s most commonly used plastic containers.
Recyclability
Many pharmaceutical products come packaged in plastic bottles, which may absorb chemicals compromising effectiveness and safety. Therefore, recyclable solutions for pharmaceutical packaging must be identified and utilised whenever possible.
Consider how small pills will be swallowed when choosing your bottle and their likelihood of crushing or breaking, which could increase the risk of overdose. Smaller pills are often more accessible for consumers to swallow. Furthermore, these pills tend to be less likely to be crushed and break apart accidentally during transport and could therefore help decrease side effects and side-effects.