From:Packaging Digest

Improvements up and down the pharmaceutical supply chain can positively impact patient safety and cost containment issues.

With patient safety and cost containment as the end-game, pharmaceutical companies look to various packaging solutions to help improve their supply chains. Anti-counterfeiting technologies, serialization solutions and other track-and-trace options will be in abundance at the upcoming Pharmapack North America (June 9-10; New York City).

From expert opinions shared at conference sessions to new products from an elite group of exhibitors, attendees will have access to appropriate answers and will be inspired by innovative ideas.

The following highlights of pre-event coverage come courtesy of our sister publication Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News, as reported by Matthew Sanderson, associate editor. Links direct you to more detailed PMP News articles. Register here to attend the event.

At first glance, counterfeiting may seem to plague only high-value products. But for those who have been tracking counterfeiters and trying to anticipate their next move—such as Brian Donnelly, Pfizer’s director of global security for the Americas region—counterfeiting is everyone’s problem. Donnelly will be sharing some of his experiences in tracking pharmaceutical counterfeiters at the conference on Wed., June 10, in “Mitigating the Risk of Counterfeiting to Your Brand, Trading Partners and Patients.” He will be joined by Timothy Marsh, managing director of Supply Chain Security Partners, who will offer strategies on protecting pharma brands from counterfeiting.

With compliance dates for the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) approaching, pharmaceutical manufacturers and packaging/labeling professionals need to make important decisions, reports Salil Joshi, senior director, Industry Development–Healthcare, GS1 US. These decisions include “selection of serialization technology and selection of method for exchange of transaction level data,” he tells PMP News. Joshi will be speaking on Wed., June 10, during “Pharmaceutical Serialization Standards, Guidances & Best Practices” at 1:35 p.m. He will provide an overview of the DSCSA timeline, guidance on how to effectively manage serialization requirements for manufacturers leveraging GS1 Standards and best practices for exchanging transaction data between supply-chain trading partners.

Cryopak, a manufacturer of thermal packaging solutions and temperature recorders for shipping, will be attending Pharmapack North America for the first time. The company will be primarily featuring its packaging testing laboratory in New Jersey, its testing services and two new electronic temperature-recording devices: the K1 Electronic Temperature Indicator and the iMini USB PDF.