Quick Hits: Coronavirus Causes Two Key Shortages

Increased demand due to the pandemic has caused shortages of key hospital painkillers.

Tim HayesContributing Editor, Healthcare Packaging

Apr 17th, 2020

A recent FiercePharma article discussed the shortage of anesthetics in U.S. hospitals due to increased demand from coronavirus patients. The FDA posted shortages last Friday, specifically calling out anesthetics propofol and midazolam. API sourcing difficulties could delay companies like Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Hikma Pharmaceuticals from resupplying propofol until October. Certain doses of midazolam are still available, but others may be delayed until early 2021.

To ease shortages, the DEA announced it would allow increased production and imports of midazolam. The DEA also added various painkillers and sedatives to the production increase list, including fentanyl, ketamine, phenobarbital, and diazepam.

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Innovation Not Keeping Pace With Sustainability Demands

OEMs and CPGs agree that right now, packaging and processing technology hinders any significant sustainable solutions. Consumers and brands want it yesterday, but how?

Great Resignation Driving Employee Poaching

It’s a buyer’s market for job seekers as 81,000 left manufacturing from Aug. 2020 through Aug. 2021. Manufacturers are climbing over each other to poach workers to meet increases in production.

Pharmaceutical Industry Applies Artificial Intelligence

How pharmaceutical companies are using artificial intelligence to improve asset performance management and predictive maintenance to avoid batch loss and reduce maintenance and repair costs.

Sustainability – No Longer Just a “Nice to Have”, Speakers from Left: Lindsay Smaron, Samantha Smith, and Kevin Kane with Moderator Jamie Pero-Parker, PhD at thePACKout.

Medical Device eIFUs: Hurdles to Overcome

Live from the[PACK]out: Regulations, regional acceptance, and validated packaging configurations all play a role. The challenges aren’t insurmountable but will require efforts from the packaging community.

Steel Toes and Stilettos

unPACKed with OEM Podcast: Femininity in Manufacturing

Listen as Stephanie Neil outlines the challenges for women in manufacturing with “Steel Toes and Stilettos” authors Kathy Miller and Shannon Karels.

Tyvek Pouches Now Available: In Stock & Ready to Ship

Tyvek Pouches Now Available: In Stock & Ready to Ship

Do you need sterile barrier pouches quickly to help cover low inventory? Don't let standard lead times slow you down. Expedited shipping is available with our Stock Pouch Program. Place your order.

Mergers and acquisitions are hampering collaboration.

Consolidation Threatening CPG-OEM Relationships

The shift in the CPG-OEM relationship from transactional to strategic collaboration has hit a snag.

At the[PACK]out, presenting 'Wicked Stability: Predicting the Aging Degradation of Materials' were speakers (from left): Dan Burgess, Henk Blom, and Rod Patch w/ Moderator Seema Momin.

KiiP Tackles Wicked Problems in Package Material Stability

What began as a chat over coffee has led to work on a hypothesis and a white paper with far-reaching potential in saving time and resources in medical device packaging stability testing. Efforts were presented at the[PACK]out's inaugural event in Austin.

5. PulseNmore ES is an ultrasound device for home use. Credit: Good Design Awards and The Chicago Athenaeum.

Good Design Awards Highlight Connected Devices

The Chicago Athenaeum 2021 GOOD DESIGN Awards Program featured designs for insulin injectors, portable ultrasound and ECGs, allergy detection, and more. The closing date for the 2022 Good Design Award applications is June 1, 2022.

Over the past two years, at least 20 bills in 10 states plus two federal bills related to recycled content have been introduced.

AMERIPEN: ‘New Recycled Content Mandates Doomed To Fail’

An examination of legislation meant to boost demand for PCR reveals lawmakers are not considering the full implications of these requirements and the other industries that compete for demand.

FDA Permits Marketing for Test to Improve Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease

The Lumipulse test is intended to measure the ratio of β-amyloid 1-42 and β-amyloid 1-40 concentrations found in human cerebral spinal fluid.

Tyvek Pouches Now Available: In Stock & Ready to Ship

Tyvek Pouches Now Available: In Stock & Ready to Ship

Do you need sterile barrier pouches quickly to help cover low inventory? Don't let standard lead times slow you down. Expedited shipping is available with our Stock Pouch Program. Place your order.

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Quotables and By the Numbers: May 2022

Quotes and stats in healthcare packaging and logistics, from distribution to sustainability and beyond...

Prefilled Enteral Pouch Wins Highest 2022 FPA Award

The EnteraLoc is a 510(k) FDA-approved enteral device designed for tube-fed patients. It’s a flexible spouted pouch with a leak-proof seal, for direct-connect delivery of nutrition in a safe and convenient manner.

Qr Cover Image Square

Unleashing QR Codes’ Potential in Healthcare

QR codes can link consumers and patients to dynamic engagement, education, authentication features and more. Here are 12 examples of how brand owners can unleash the potential of QR codes for life science and personal care applications.

FDA Issues New Guidance to Increase Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Clinical Trials

The agency’s focus on inclusion in trials for all medical products aligns with Biden Administration’s Cancer Moonshot goal of addressing inequities and beyond.

Sustainability initiatives in life sciences packaging: cutting carbon from supply chains, reducing waste, and more.

9 Sustainability Initiatives in Healthcare Packaging: Earth Day 2022

While there are numerous important cross-industry initiatives, this year we’re taking “official Earth Day 2022” to highlight the rise in partnerships targeting sustainability specifically in life sciences and healthcare.

Applying pressure to the Packlock blister card and creating the rectangular prism is required to open up a space between the backing of the card, allowing the user to push a pill into the space and have the pill drop down.

Johnson & Johnson Chief Medical Officer Highlights Unit Dose Packaging’s Role in Preventing Accidental Ingestion

Dr. Ed Kuffner: “Every day in the U.S., we have about 150 children—about four busloads of kids—coming into emergency departments because of accidental unsupervised ingestions… Packaging innovations can reduce these risks.”

Parcel Health Phill Box

Parcel Health Launches Sustainable Medication Packaging Pilot Program

Ten nationwide, independent pharmacies are participating in the pilot program involving Phill Box, a recyclable, compostable, water-resistant, easy-to-use alternative to plastic pill bottles.

Automation: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Trend Shaping the Future

Efforts to maximize throughput are driving pharmaceutical manufacturing investments in automation and digitization.

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Cybersecurity in Medical Devices: FDA Announces New Draft Guidance

The new guidance deals with quality system considerations and the content of premarket submissions for members of the medical device industry, as well as Food and Drug Administration staff.

Speakers from left at TempPack: Mark Maurice, Sensitech; Eric Silberstein, eBiotech Consulting, LLC; Bryan Cardis, Eli Lilly and Company; Arif Rahman, MaxQ Research LLC

10 Temperature Monitor Qualification Considerations

From the 2022 ISTA Forum TempPack: Panelists discussed the latest on temperature recording device (TRD) qualification, including dry ice and LCD screens, probes that disconnect, and what to consider before selecting a shipper integrated with a TRD.

New Industrial Control System Security Threat

The U.S. government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency issues new alert about attacks targeting ICS/SCADA devices.

2022 ISTA Forum: Sustainability Highlights from Day 1

Live from ISTA Forum’s TempPack & TransPack: Transport packaging leaders offered tips and trends ranging from smart packaging to digitizing specification data to the need for educating consumers and regulators on the ramifications of packaging changes.

Tubes Answer the Call for More Sustainable Packaging Options

Packaging World’s Jim Chrzan and Packaging Digest’s Lisa McTigue Pierce met with Tube Council members to chart green milestones for paper tubes, mono-layer plastics, sugar cane, and recycled aluminum.

The facility currently ships more than 200 million units annually across 200 product categories to hospitals, doctor’s offices, commercial pharmacies, and retail outlets nationwide.

Aurobindo Pharma USA Increases Distribution Throughput and Performance with New Automated Warehouse System

When the generic pharmaceutical giant wanted to automate its U.S. nerve center, it sought an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) that boosted storage capacity by 450% and increased order fulfillment efficiency.

J&J Chief Medical Officer Talks Package Design Considerations

In part 2 of this two-part series, we delve into design considerations, including caregiver burnout, as well as some of Dr. Kuffner’s tips for those within and outside the packaging community to prevent unsupervised medication ingestions in kids.

FDA and the UCSF-Stanford’s CERSI join together to educate the biomedical engineering and manufacturing communities in cybersecurity has resulted in a Cybersecurity Seminar Series.

Arm Your Biomed Company Against Cyberattacks

As cyberattacks increase and evolve, research for solutions must do the same. It’s critical that the medical and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries get involved.

FDA Recommends Use of Duodenoscopes With Innovative Designs to Enhance Safety

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PACK EXPO International 2022 (Oct. 23-26; McCormick Place, Chicago)

PACK EXPO International Returns with Eight New Show Additions

In response to unprecedented demands on the industry, the most comprehensive packaging and processing show in the world in 2022 gets even bigger.

Sustainability & DTC: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Trends Shaping the Future

Discover pharmaceutical packaging changes spurred by consumer sustainability awareness and direct-to-consumer channels.

Sustainable Packaging TODAY: Personal Care

Looking for sustainable personal care packaging available today? U.K. sustainable packaging expert Paul Jenkins of the PackHub and Packaging World’s Matt Reynold discuss real-world applications you can find on the shelf.