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PCI Sees ‘Tremendous Activity’ in Pharmaceutical Serialization

Contract packager PCI's serialization investment expected to deliver strong ROI and help its global pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical customers.

PCI’s Ray Hook holds this example of how laser ablation is applied to solid colors (blue in this instance) on a carton.
PCI’s Ray Hook holds this example of how laser ablation is applied to solid colors (blue in this instance) on a carton.

Contract packager PCI’s multimillion-dollar ongoing investment in serialization technology, packaging equipment and controls not only helps its global pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical customers meet serialization requirements, but also is expected to deliver a return on investment for the CP, based in large part on capturing future business.

Another financial benefit: Serialization technology renders some equipment redundant—in this instance checkweighers—saving capital investment costs.

The big picture

For the past two years, PCI addressed serialization through a combination of in-house-engineered solutions and/or customer systems. Now, the CP has established a global standard for its enterprise-level serialization efforts that employs numerous technologies, including the following:

Antares Vision modular technology platform that integrates into PCI’s global packaging operations, as well as the IT architecture for aggregation and commissioning, batch handling of serialized numbers, and company-to-company data exchange.

• Integration support from Xyntek in the U.S. and Crest Solutions in Europe.

“The key tenet for our serialization technology partner search was PCI’s commitment to providing the industry’s leading customer experience,” says Ian Parsonage, the company’s Senior Director of Global Serialization. “We wanted to partner with a proven solutions provider that offered a technology that was flexible and adaptable to our individual client needs with the intent to make the client experience as easy as possible. Serialization can be complex, but whatever we can do at PCI to make our customers’ lives easier, the better off we all are. So far our clients have been pleased with the approach and the experience.”

At the time of PCI’s Enterprise serialization efforts, PCI clients were at varying levels of readiness in executing their own global strategies. These clients include large, traditional “Big Pharma” profile companies, mid-sized and small and emerging pharmaceutical and biotech firms.

PCI notes that several progressive-minded companies opted to aggressively move forward with their commercial serialization activities ahead of the 2017 regulatory requirements, thereby establishing the priority for PCI’s global equipment installations.

With that in mind, the contract packager targeted its largest operational center in Rockford, Ill. as its first installation location. The scope included multiple line integration installations across several packaging formats and technologies, as well as stand-alone “flex suite” installations, enabling PCI to provide inline solutions for serialization as well as a finishing solution for products needing codes to be added post-packaging. The successful implementation at Rockford provided a robust platform for subsequent installations at PCI’s headquarters in Philadelphia and at follow-on installations at its European sites.

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