Case Study: Synthon chooses custom designed packaging for pharmaceuticals

There is increasing appreciation in the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries that product packaging is a powerful factor in defining the brand. There is also growing need for packaging that integrates more closely into the customer’s specific manufacturing and distribution processes. Together, these factors are driving growing demand for individually tailored packaging solutions.

The following case study featuring Pharmaceuticals manufacturer Synthon illustrates how custom-designed packaging can provide powerful marketing and efficiency benefits.

Synthon was looking for a new high-quality package for its tablets and capsules. CurTec International has developed custom packaging that is not only easier to use and recognize but also able to reduce supply chain costs.

Background

Pharmaceuticals manufacturer Synthon is based in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and has rapidly expanded to a worldwide manufacturer with a successful strategy in focusing on affordable medicines through the provision of high quality small molecule generics, biosimilars and new biological and new chemical entities.

The company had been using packaging made by CurTec for a number of years, to the extent that the distinctive CurTec 20 liter(5.3 gal) wide neck drum had already become associated with Synthon for the company’s customers, made recognizable by being branded in the manufacturer’s colours and with a distinctively magenta-colored screw lid.

“The container gave our products a face”, said Derk Sanders, Synthon’s Director of Technology & GMP Implementation.

“Furthermore, we were extremely satisfied with the quality of the container. It had the right wall thickness, was sturdy and did not affect the stability of our tablets and capsules over the long term,” added Sanders.

Specific packaging needs

Although Synthon was satisfied with the wide neck drum, the format proved to be too large for a number of applications. Synthon asked CurTec to develop a high quality alternative with a lower volume and price. The container needed to be widely deployable and just as easy to recognise as the old packaging.

Derk Sanders recalls: “CurTec developed various prototypes for us. We eventually chose a nestable 20 litre container (Click PackY) that offered the greatest benefits to Synthon.”

Practical benefits

Synthon has been working with the new packaging since 2011 and has identified a number of functional benefits.

“The large opening makes it is easy to fill the container”, said Derk Sanders.

“An important advantage of the Click Pack compared to the drum is that it allows PE liners to be easily emptied and removed. The nestable container does not have a neck but a large opening instead, which means that there is no resistance to the bags.”

“Another important advantage is the unique closing point that is important for our contract manufacturers. There is only one way to close and open the container, which provides clarity,” Sanders reflects.

In addition to being easy to use, the new container also contributes towards a better environment and lower supply chain costs.

“Click Pack is nestable and therefore takes up far less space during transportation,” notes Sanders.

“Where in the past we needed ten pallets, now we only need two. This gives us considerable savings on transportation costs.”

Enhancing the Synthon brand

Regardless of the number of benefits offered by the packaging, one requirement was paramount in the final decision: quality.

“Synthon wants to provide quality and therefore our packaging has to be in close keeping with this,” Sanders emphasized.

An important measurement of quality was the container’s ability to seal against air and water vapor.

“CurTec tested the container for air and water vapor transmission and it proved to be of equal quality”, said Sanders. “The stability of the container for pharmaceutical products was also extensively tested and it passed with flying colours. We also re-audited CurTec as a supplier, with a positive result,” said Sanders.

Reliability of delivery, user experience and the way in which a company organises its processes are other important aspects of quality.

“It is not easy to change packaging in a company that manufactures pharmaceutical products. The questions are always the same. ‘Is it better? Is it the same? Or is it cheaper and therefore perhaps of a poorer quality? The manner in which CurTec deals with quality fits into the way of thinking at Synthon. We want to guarantee this throughout the entire cycle,” said Sanders.

“Our packaging has to be in close keeping with our quality and affordability ethos: neat, simple and effective,” he added.

“We looked at various other containers. CurTec stood out because of the design, attention to detail and the feeling that you get when you pick up a container. It is difficult to put into words, but it does play a part in the perception of quality”, said Derk. “We chose a white container with a lid coloured in the ruby red that is the Synthon company color and makes the container recognizable throughout the world.”

Evolution: from transport packaging to bulk storage

Synthon uses Click Pack to transport its tablets and capsules, first packing them into a double PE liner with desiccant in between the layers that are then inserted into the container for dispatch to other sites in Europe where the tablets are put into blister packs.
However, with the opening of a new Synthon factory in Chile in 2013, there is now need for bulk storage of active ingredients, with protection against water vapor and air critical factors. Here again, Click Pack has played a vital role.

Throughout its use of Click Pack, Synthon has not received any complaints.

“We assume this means that our customers are satisfied”, said Derk. “The new packaging meets the set quality requirements and provides welcomed savings. Furthermore, it stands out because of its shape and color.”

Packaging Scan

Synthon maximized its use of CurTec packaging to increase efficiency, reduce cost, reflect its quality objectives and enhance its brand image.

CurTec International offers a Packaging Scan consulting service for any client looking to optimize its packaging in line with strategy and company objectives.