Patient security stands on the forefront of the pharmaceutical trade’s priorities. In the United States, legislative initiatives just like the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) have been enacted to bolster provide chain safety, emphasizing the want for modern options to fight counterfeit pharmaceutical merchandise.

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2023, MM Packaging, a member of MM Group, showcased its newest expertise. MM Packaging supplies pharmaceutical firms with packaging for a number of drug varieties. The firm has partnered with Crane Authentication, by way of its pharma and healthcare enterprise unit, to make the most of Crane’s patented micro-optic expertise in anti-counterfeit labeling.

Crane’s micro-optic expertise has been supplying safety features to the banknote trade for greater than 200 years and is utilized within the US $100 invoice. The key characteristic that units the expertise aside is its depth of subject that resembles a hologram, solely it supplies an added layer of safety by way of its origination course of. The micro-optic expertise combines patented mental property with commerce secrets and techniques, making certain the utmost safety in opposition to counterfeiting makes an attempt.

MM packaging supplies directions designed with ease of comprehension in thoughts to empower sufferers and customers to distinguish between real and counterfeit merchandise. Crane’s micro-optic options may be simply recognized in low lighting, in response to the corporate. Mobile cellphone authentication is accessible to offer instruction and QR codes can verify code authenticity as properly. This instructional method may be built-in into provide chains, additional enhancing affected person security. 

“Part of anti-counterfeiting is helping those who are going to be using the product be able to identify a genuine versus a fake. We can also pair it with overt security features that would require extra hardware or extra tools to detect,” says Tiffany Overstreet, innovation director for MM Packaging’s pharma and healthcare enterprise unit.

In addition to this instructional device, MM Packaging has made preparations with Crane Automation to make sure that prospects can supply the expertise by way of its rivals, regardless of having an unique license to be able to guarantee provide chain safety.The Crane micro-optic expertise labels are customizable.

Tamper proof and anti-harvesting

The micro-optic labels may be formatted to suit completely different packaging functions, akin to small codecs on vials and auto-injectors, in addition to bigger codecs on cartons. The expertise may be simply over-printed to incorporate textual content, 2D matrix codes, and extra alongside safety features.

Crane’s expertise additionally permits for flexibility in label utility past anti-counterfeit. Tamper-evident labels use a particular adhesive designed to tear the carton, offering clear and visual indicators of tampering.

The safety label particularly combats anti-harvesting, making an attempt to take away this label by any means, together with steaming, ends in its destruction, stopping counterfeiters from reusing it on one other product. 

MM Packaging additionally works with its prospects to develop additional functions based mostly on buyer want. While their major focus is anti-counterfeiting, Crane’s micro-optics expertise presents the flexibleness of customization in tamper proof labels to match a model’s colours, emblem, or a picture or wording consultant of the product. This potential might have the potential to interact customers by way of the “wow factor”.

“The labels could play a very important part in terms of patient engagement by bringing patients in to find out more information about their pharmaceutical products,” says Overstreet.