Packaging experts are the heroes no one thinks about

"If we do our jobs correctly, no one will know we exist, or care what we do."

That was the quote that stuck out in my mind, and apparently the mind of several others, during the PDA's packaging conference in Baltimore.

It was said by Dana Guazzo, the founder of RxPax, a consulting firm committed to proving primary package development support to the pharmaceutical industry.

Guazzo was presented with a special award to mark her contributions to science and technology at the start of the conference, but her brief comments were quoted throughout the event.

"We deliver the medication to help save people's lives," she continued. "I don't think any of us wrote in our high school year book that we would wanted to go into packaging. "

Previously coming from the world of TV journalism, all three of her sentences make great sound bites, and the reason they struck me, was because they are all so true.

First, I would bet that that most high school seniors getting ready to graduate don't even know this type of job exists. They open their allergy medications or uncap their contact lens solution and never really give it a second thought.

Actually, I am sure that is true for most people. Before I started working at Healthcare Packaging, it was true for me, too.

In reality, these people are just as important as the scientists who make the medicines and the doctors who prescribe them. If you can't get it from the lab to the patient, how will lives be saved?