Körber meets rising self-medication and sustainability demands with Dividella Solution NeoTOP platform and monomaterial packaging

Increasing emphasis on flexibility and sustainability, together with the trend towards self-medication and patient-centric solutions are compelling the pharmaceutical industry to re-think its approach to packaging.

These drivers converge in the field of self-medication, where a growing number of solutions meet patient demand for more autonomy and flexibility. Solutions include injection pen systems and auto-injectors to replace traditional syringes. Packaging these medical devices requires very flexible yet standardized assembly and top loading machines such as the Dividella NeoTOP x from Körber Business Area Pharma.

A key advantage of Körber’s solutions is the integration of capabilities it offers across the group with packaging platforms combining monomaterial (card and paper-based), packaging development and materials along with track and trace and data integration capabilities.

Self-medication trends

The advantages of self-medication medical devices are evident: they allow patients with metabolic, autoimmune and other chronic conditions to benefit from the latest advances in biopharmaceutical and gene technology, with a more targeted and personalized approach to therapy, while also relieving the stress on national healthcare systems by enabling patients to self-administer at home.

Furthermore, expiring patents mean increasing access to biosimilar generic versions of previously high-end drugs, suitable for medical device delivery.

Thus the past decade has seen strong and consistent growth in the auto-injector market, with Verified Market Research forecasting net annual growth rate of more than 23% until 2026.

However, these benefits are balanced by challenges with more complex component or fragile medical device systems requiring more sophisticated packaging and the trend to more personalized medicine implying ever smaller and more targeted production batches, demanding ever more adaptable and flexible packaging solutions.

Flexible assembly and packaging

Most injectors and pen systems use similar components but can vary markedly in design, size, material, and form. The parenteral packaging challenge is to provide standardized yet modular platforms that can adapt to a wide range of different package formats.

The basic monomaterial elements need to be simple, easy to handle, space and material efficient. At the same time, these packaging components must be capable of being assembled into forms that are capable of providing attractive, user friendly and robust product protection.

Dividella NeoTOP toploading machines from Körber’s Business Area Pharma follow a modular design concept and high automation levels that allow for flexible, safe and efficient packaging of small to high volume batch sizes. In addition to vials, syringes and pens/auto-injectors, the machines can package multi-component kits with various ancillary components such as needles, leaflets, infusion tubing/support components and patient information.

The NeoTOP configurations include fully automated carton erecting with partition, feeding of product and leaflet, code control, camera verifications and more. They offer users the option to manually load components where necessary to meet exceptionally complex carton design configurations for small lots.

The design allows small lot sizes (<2,500 units) to be rapidly launched without compromising on quality or safety, with potential capacity of up to 270 packs per minute to support large product batches.

Monomaterial advantages

Dividella Solutions from Körber have long espoused the concept of using 100% monomaterials, both for environmental reasons and also to help customers reduce their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Total Cost of Package (TCP).

The Dividella NeoTOP cartoners can produce full cardboard package designs, using 100% monomaterial, eliminating need for plastic blisters in secondary packaging. In addition, the most compact external dimensions of the toploading cartons ensure cost savings in the logistics chain.

NeoTOP offers manual and fully automatic product insertion modules for flexible feeding, in order to provide the perfect balance between highest flexibility for small lot production and pure speed for larger batches.

Packaging machines by Dividella solutions combined with Packaging materials by Rondo solutions allow all packaging to be formed from 100% paperboard, which high-quality look and feel contribute to an appealing product presentation. Loose inserts such as pre-folded booklets, brochures or outserts can be placed in the packaging. The uniform packaging material makes the use of a plastic tray superfluous. As a result, no deep-drawing machine is required, which in turn reduces the required production area and also lowers material costs and energy consumption. In addition, by using recyclable packaging materials, Körber’s solution and our customers contribute to the global fight against the plastic crisis.. The top opening packs are easy to handle and open for doctors and patients; with no risk of injury on sharp edges. Monomaterial solutions are available for all dosing forms like pens, autoinjectors, syringes, vials and ampoules.

Körber’s flexible toploading Dividella solutions are built on decades of experience in pharmaceutical packaging, with in-depth understanding of processes and regulatory challenges.

The modular approach

Körber packaging machines by Dividella Solutions built up an impressive reputation across the global pharmaceutical industry for the quality and effectiveness of its NeoTOP TopLoad cartoning machines. This success has been established on a holistic approach that recognizes that machine and pack design go hand in hand.

The TopLoading concept also recognizes that pack design, accessibility and appearance create significant added value for pharmaceutical companies, meaning that each pack deserves to be treated in the smoothest possible way.

Körber Business Area pharma packaging designers are accustomed to working in close co-operation with the customer’s marketing departments to determine detailed specifications for individual packs and carton loading.

They can thus address multiple client concerns including:

• The high-quality engineering of cartoners
• The flexibility and integration of modular design concepts
• Innovative package design expertise
• Extended machine capabilities allowing for wider choice of materials and formats
• User friendliness in operation.

Resources

Click on Körber’s Dividella Solution for monomaterial packaging for further information.
Click on Dividella NeoTOP helps Sharp meet small lots challenge for case study.