GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott, and contract packaging panel highlight Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum

• Unplanned downtime, excessive changeover time, and production schedule failures can all hinder Overall Equipment Effectiveness. Zarpac's Paul Zepf brings more than 35 years of experience in his presentation, "How Pharmaceutical Packaging Lines Can Increase Profitability."

• "Pharmaceuticals: The 'last frontier' for Package Design" addresses designing packages for a global market, economic justification for changes, materials and structures that could revolutionize pharmaceutical packaging, and how sustainability fits into the equation. Don't miss this keynote address by Peter Clarke of Product Ventures Ltd.

• Six Sigma and operational excellence as it pertains to working with suppliers will be a focus of a presentation from Beverly Simon, sourcing group manager, new product supply with GlaxoSmithKline. Simon's presentation, "Operational Excellence Drives Improvement in Quality and Productivity," will address quality improvement, productivity increases, and cost savings issues.

• For the second straight year, the PPF welcomes an international panel co-sponsored by Pharmintech 2010 called "Pharmaceutical Packaging Perspectives from Europe, China, and India." As of presstime, Tassilo Korab, executive director of the European Healthcare Compliance Council, is scheduled to update the audience on compliance and counterfeiting issues in Europe.

• "An Overview of Pharmaceutical Noncompliance: Scope and Impact in the U.S. and the World" is the title of a presentation to be given by Peter G. Mayberry, executive director of the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council in the U.S. This presentation will offer insights into independent research regarding the scope of the pharmaceutical noncompliance problem and the impact that packaging can have on reducing the problem.

• When it comes to conducting clinical trials, packaging is often the last thing on people's minds. But primary, secondary, and/or tertiary packaging issues can be critical to the success or failure of a new product, especially a clinical trial. If problems are discovered with a product in a clinical trial, how do we know if they were caused by the product itself, improper packaging or product handling? In the session, "Packaging issues in clinical trials, combination products, and FDA insights," Mike Drues, president of Vascular Sciences addresses these issues and explores combination products and the key differences between biologics, drugs, and medical devices. Drues will also provide his unique perspective on working with the FDA.

• A "Revised JETT Equipment Risk Assessment Model" will look at the Joint Equipment Transition Team's efforts on pharmaceutical packaging equipment in this co-presentation with Steve Connelly, divisional engineering validation program coordinator with Abbott Laboratories, and Mel Bahr with MGS Machine Corp.

• Three contract packaging representatives will bring their insights to a presentation, "Driving Packaging Innovation at the Contract Manufacturer/Packager Level." Presenting will be Marc Feinberg of Sharp Corp., Justin Schroeder of Anderson Packaging, and Lori Fischer of Tolmar. [HCP]

--Jim Butschli, Editor