Pharmaceutical manufacturers are under financial pressure from many fronts, be it from management, stockholders, or customers. That often means squeezing as much efficiency as possible out of processing and packaging lines and equipment, and making wise economic decisions when purchasing packaging materials. In this age of keeping a close eye on expenses, it's hardly the time to consider packaging options beyond tried-and-true amber vials and caps. Or is it? Consider the following factors:
• Blockbuster drug development is slowing and generics are expanding, which gives packaging a solid opening to provide on-shelf differentiation, in terms of functionality, structure, user-friendliness, and in creating brand excitement among consumers.
• Growing switches from prescription-only to over-the-counter medications put an emphasis on packaging to provide information and dosage instructions once given by doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals, who continue to be pressed by growing time restraints.
• As healthcare reform progresses, healthcare professionals may be compensated in larger part based on patient health outcomes. Packaging that leads to improved patient compliance with dosing regimens aimed at improving health outcomes will have an advantage.
Aiming for adherence
MeadWestvaco's (MWV) Joel Beckerman, recently appointed as senior manager, product marketing, and Julia Amadio, global vp of marketing for healthcare, both agree it's time for pharmaceutical manufacturers to ask more from their primary and secondary packaging in the healthcare sector.
The healthcare solutions supplier, which produces adherence-enhancing packaging, “works with brand teams to understand the customer insights in an effort to transform packaging from a container to a packaging solution that's adjustable to address customers wants and needs and make a brand impression that resonates in the hearts and minds of patients,” explains Beckerman. That's the power and the potential that packaging has.”
Beckerman says, “Adherence is a critical issue and pharma recognizes that. If you just look at the economic impact that lack of adherence has on the industry as a whole there are estimates that it's as much as $300 billion a year in the U.S. alone. But more importantly, it's about the impact that it has on patients--our loved ones. With adherence packaging, you can reach all patients and have a significant impact not just on the bottom-line for manufacturers, but in improving patient outcomes.”
Input from the 'spectrum of handling'
MWV works with both pharmaceutical manufacturers and contract manufacturers, but how does it get down to the level of using packaging to address patient compliance and adherence? How do you make the package work once it's in the patient's hands?
Amadio says, “That's where we do quite a bit of market research and consumer insight into the use of products, making sure they offer child-resistance and are senior-friendly. That's certainly often a trade-off, but we always approach our packaging from a 'with consumer insight' into what else is needed and how we design it so that it is easy, usable, and helps them in their daily lives.”
The supplier works with consumer focus groups, conducting in-depth interviews and panel discussions. “We also work with a variety of healthcare providers and their patients,” says Amadio. “And not just the actual patients, but we also gain the input of caregivers, nurses, and pharmacists. So we look across the 'spectrum of handling', if you will, to make sure that the packaging is understood, meets needs, and appropriately communicates.”
Arthritis Foundation award
One example of a package commercialized following patient research, Beckerman says, is the company's Dosepak Express® child-resistant, adherence packaging that earlier this year “earned commendation from the Arthritis Foundation's Ease-of-Use program as a user- friendly product for the 46 million people in the United States living with arthritis,” according to a company press release.
That release noted, “To receive the Arthritis Foundation's Ease-of-Use commendation, Dosepak Express went through a series of rigorous tests at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, an independent lab that analyzes the use of products for people with functional limitations due to the effects of arthritis. The study participants, who have moderate-to-severe arthritis, determined that Dosepak Express' design made the product easy-to-use. Launched in April 2009, Dosepak Express features an outer protective paperboard carton, blister pack, and leaflet or insert into one integrated pack. The product is designed with a calendar or dosing instructions and an easy push-through blister to help patients remember which pills to take and when.”
“Many everyday tasks, actions as simple as dispensing medications, can be difficult for people with limited function due to arthritis,” said Rick Bell, group vice president of Cause Development with the Arthritis Foundation. “The Arthritis Foundation gladly recognizes products that make these tasks easier and that allow people to maintain their sense of independence.”
Terms of adherence
Packaging-centric terminology can sometimes confuse the benefit of patient adherence to a doctor-prescribed medication regimen. Amadio explains, “Unfortunately, unit-dose and unit-of-use are often expressed to mean the same thing, but typically a unit dose is an individual dosage. So, it would be an individual container of the two pills or capsules as opposed to the overall unit of use, which could be a monthly fill of your medication, such as a 30-, 60-, or 90-day prescription, or a two-week antibiotic regimen.”
Beckerman states, “To avoid that confusion, we tend to use the more general term adherence packaging.”
Of course, different regions around the world have different approaches to adherence packaging that go back decades. Some have speculated that after World War II, a more robust U.S. distribution chain led to bulk bottle filling of solid-dose drugs that would then be dispensed by pharmacists into standard vials and caps for individual patient scripts. In Europe, blister packs are preferred, requiring no direct product handling between the manufacturer and the patient.
“Julia and I have significant experience globally, and outside the U.S. there are few markets where an amber vial is considered the norm,” confirms Beckerman. “The norm in most markets outside the U.S. is blister packaging. So with adherence packaging built into the blister, we are working with customers to help change that trend by demonstrating the value of adherence packaging.”
Both see adherence packaging as an opportunity for pharmaceutical firms to bring new, innovative products to market that provide consumers with portability, ease of use, and calenderization (having the days of the month on the tablet/capsule blisters or on the package, which provides patients with a visual of when and how much medication to take and reminds them when they need to refill their medication.
Amadio believes the packs represent a “win-win for everyone across the board in terms of patient benefits, gaining from better compliance with their medications, for physicians being assured that their patients are taking their medications, and certainly for the business side.”
But how does a financially stressed pharmaceutical company justify additional costs for switching to different packaging materials? “With regards to cost, it's really critical to look at the big picture and what happens in terms of return on investment pertaining to improving adherence for every patient using your product,” Beckerman contends. “That's a significant impact. It's not simply putting pills in an amber vial, but recognizing that the packaging is a branding tool and a component of the marketing mix. For many patients the package is the product.”
He says, “I think right now in the pharmaceutical industry, this is time to set a new frontier in thinking about packaging as part of the marketing mix. Five to seven years ago, pharma really looked to consumer-packaged goods and borrowed a lot of ideas from consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, particularly around OTC products. If you think about packaging for a CPG brand, it's become a key element of their overall marketing mix. That's not necessarily the case for a lot of pharmaceutical products. But we are working with these companies to recognize the impact that packaging has. When you evaluate the investment in packaging, consider the impact it has in terms of building brand equity, and ultimately in being a gateway to customer relationship management, and you'll see that investing dollars in improving patient adherence through your packaging is a clear winner.”
-By Jim Butschli, Editor
• Blockbuster drug development is slowing and generics are expanding, which gives packaging a solid opening to provide on-shelf differentiation, in terms of functionality, structure, user-friendliness, and in creating brand excitement among consumers.
• Growing switches from prescription-only to over-the-counter medications put an emphasis on packaging to provide information and dosage instructions once given by doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals, who continue to be pressed by growing time restraints.
• As healthcare reform progresses, healthcare professionals may be compensated in larger part based on patient health outcomes. Packaging that leads to improved patient compliance with dosing regimens aimed at improving health outcomes will have an advantage.
Aiming for adherence
MeadWestvaco's (MWV) Joel Beckerman, recently appointed as senior manager, product marketing, and Julia Amadio, global vp of marketing for healthcare, both agree it's time for pharmaceutical manufacturers to ask more from their primary and secondary packaging in the healthcare sector.
The healthcare solutions supplier, which produces adherence-enhancing packaging, “works with brand teams to understand the customer insights in an effort to transform packaging from a container to a packaging solution that's adjustable to address customers wants and needs and make a brand impression that resonates in the hearts and minds of patients,” explains Beckerman. That's the power and the potential that packaging has.”
Beckerman says, “Adherence is a critical issue and pharma recognizes that. If you just look at the economic impact that lack of adherence has on the industry as a whole there are estimates that it's as much as $300 billion a year in the U.S. alone. But more importantly, it's about the impact that it has on patients--our loved ones. With adherence packaging, you can reach all patients and have a significant impact not just on the bottom-line for manufacturers, but in improving patient outcomes.”
Input from the 'spectrum of handling'
MWV works with both pharmaceutical manufacturers and contract manufacturers, but how does it get down to the level of using packaging to address patient compliance and adherence? How do you make the package work once it's in the patient's hands?
Amadio says, “That's where we do quite a bit of market research and consumer insight into the use of products, making sure they offer child-resistance and are senior-friendly. That's certainly often a trade-off, but we always approach our packaging from a 'with consumer insight' into what else is needed and how we design it so that it is easy, usable, and helps them in their daily lives.”
The supplier works with consumer focus groups, conducting in-depth interviews and panel discussions. “We also work with a variety of healthcare providers and their patients,” says Amadio. “And not just the actual patients, but we also gain the input of caregivers, nurses, and pharmacists. So we look across the 'spectrum of handling', if you will, to make sure that the packaging is understood, meets needs, and appropriately communicates.”
Arthritis Foundation award
One example of a package commercialized following patient research, Beckerman says, is the company's Dosepak Express® child-resistant, adherence packaging that earlier this year “earned commendation from the Arthritis Foundation's Ease-of-Use program as a user- friendly product for the 46 million people in the United States living with arthritis,” according to a company press release.
That release noted, “To receive the Arthritis Foundation's Ease-of-Use commendation, Dosepak Express went through a series of rigorous tests at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, an independent lab that analyzes the use of products for people with functional limitations due to the effects of arthritis. The study participants, who have moderate-to-severe arthritis, determined that Dosepak Express' design made the product easy-to-use. Launched in April 2009, Dosepak Express features an outer protective paperboard carton, blister pack, and leaflet or insert into one integrated pack. The product is designed with a calendar or dosing instructions and an easy push-through blister to help patients remember which pills to take and when.”
“Many everyday tasks, actions as simple as dispensing medications, can be difficult for people with limited function due to arthritis,” said Rick Bell, group vice president of Cause Development with the Arthritis Foundation. “The Arthritis Foundation gladly recognizes products that make these tasks easier and that allow people to maintain their sense of independence.”
Terms of adherence
Packaging-centric terminology can sometimes confuse the benefit of patient adherence to a doctor-prescribed medication regimen. Amadio explains, “Unfortunately, unit-dose and unit-of-use are often expressed to mean the same thing, but typically a unit dose is an individual dosage. So, it would be an individual container of the two pills or capsules as opposed to the overall unit of use, which could be a monthly fill of your medication, such as a 30-, 60-, or 90-day prescription, or a two-week antibiotic regimen.”
Beckerman states, “To avoid that confusion, we tend to use the more general term adherence packaging.”
Of course, different regions around the world have different approaches to adherence packaging that go back decades. Some have speculated that after World War II, a more robust U.S. distribution chain led to bulk bottle filling of solid-dose drugs that would then be dispensed by pharmacists into standard vials and caps for individual patient scripts. In Europe, blister packs are preferred, requiring no direct product handling between the manufacturer and the patient.
“Julia and I have significant experience globally, and outside the U.S. there are few markets where an amber vial is considered the norm,” confirms Beckerman. “The norm in most markets outside the U.S. is blister packaging. So with adherence packaging built into the blister, we are working with customers to help change that trend by demonstrating the value of adherence packaging.”
Both see adherence packaging as an opportunity for pharmaceutical firms to bring new, innovative products to market that provide consumers with portability, ease of use, and calenderization (having the days of the month on the tablet/capsule blisters or on the package, which provides patients with a visual of when and how much medication to take and reminds them when they need to refill their medication.
Amadio believes the packs represent a “win-win for everyone across the board in terms of patient benefits, gaining from better compliance with their medications, for physicians being assured that their patients are taking their medications, and certainly for the business side.”
But how does a financially stressed pharmaceutical company justify additional costs for switching to different packaging materials? “With regards to cost, it's really critical to look at the big picture and what happens in terms of return on investment pertaining to improving adherence for every patient using your product,” Beckerman contends. “That's a significant impact. It's not simply putting pills in an amber vial, but recognizing that the packaging is a branding tool and a component of the marketing mix. For many patients the package is the product.”
He says, “I think right now in the pharmaceutical industry, this is time to set a new frontier in thinking about packaging as part of the marketing mix. Five to seven years ago, pharma really looked to consumer-packaged goods and borrowed a lot of ideas from consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, particularly around OTC products. If you think about packaging for a CPG brand, it's become a key element of their overall marketing mix. That's not necessarily the case for a lot of pharmaceutical products. But we are working with these companies to recognize the impact that packaging has. When you evaluate the investment in packaging, consider the impact it has in terms of building brand equity, and ultimately in being a gateway to customer relationship management, and you'll see that investing dollars in improving patient adherence through your packaging is a clear winner.”
-By Jim Butschli, Editor
