Keystone Folding Box Co., a manufacturer of paperboard packaging solutions, has won the 2013 AmeriStar Award for Pharmaceutical Packaging from the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) for the company’s innovative Ecoslide-RX sustainable compliance package. Ecoslide-RX also was first runner-up for the 2013 Columbus Award for Compliance Enhancing Packaging Design, which is bestowed by the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council of Europe (HCPC-Europe).
Named for its designation as the most eco-friendly product of its kind on the market, Ecoslide-RX is a child-resistant (F=1), senior-friendly compliance package made from 100% recyclable material. Ecoslide-RX contains no plastic in its secondary packaging and, unlike other paperboard compliance packs, requires minimal film and foil while maintaining the highest-possible child-resistance rating.
The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) is the leading individual membership organization serving the educational needs of the packaging community, and its annual AmeriStar Package Awards Competition is among North America's most prestigious packaging competitions. Judging is based on package innovation, sustainability, protection, economics, performance, and marketing.
Recently, Ecoslide-RX was adopted by Walmart as a compliance package for use in the retailer’s popular $4 prescription drug program. The honor bestowed by HCPC-Europe is further testament to the product’s ability to meet the highest standards of compliance packaging while expanding the boundaries of sustainability.
Ease of use was a determining factor in both recognitions. The Ecoslide-RX locking mechanism is opened with a thumb press on a release button located on the corner of a major panel of the carton; a process that delivers top-level child resistance while remaining senior-friendly. Inside the outer carton is a film/foil, push-through blister card that slides out when the CR lock is released, yet remains connected to the carton at all times. The assembly process does not require any heat sealing of paperboard – a bonus for manufacturers incorporating Ecoslide-RX into packaging lines.
Ecoslide-RX was introduced in 2011 as a solution for prescription products, physician’s samples and clinical trial materials that meets and exceeds sustainability objectives adopted by an increasing number of organizations. Ecoslide-RX is also more affordable than most blister packages – in part because it requires no major addition of film/foil beyond the blistered product itself – and can be efficiently produced via high-speed automation at speeds similar to bottling lines.
![“Another key [UDI] benefit, because we're calling that product by the same name across the healthcare supply chain… rich and robust data that we can access around supply consumption and utilization rates. One of the buzz terms we've heard during the COVID-19 crisis was what's my burn rate? How fast am I going through gowns, masks, gloves?” – Mike Schiller, Senior Director at AHRMM](https://img.healthcarepackaging.com/files/base/pmmi/all/image/2020/08/UDI.5f4d326e41d53.png?auto=format&fit=crop&h=146&w=340)
