The changing label and packaging landscape is quite evident in pharmaceuticals. The industry must navigate the unique regulatory demands of pharmaceutical labeling. The industry’s ability to adapt quickly to new label materials is often limited by these strict requirements. Avery Dennison has designed a wide range of materials to meet demand in this critical converting segment. Meanwhile, Avery Dennison also provides Change Management Protection to help converters with these challenges.

“While changes are unavoidable, effective management and timely communication are essential,” states Cory Keller, senior product manager, Specialty, Avery Dennison. “By streamlining transitions and minimizing disruptions, our change management solutions ensure your operations continue to run smoothly.”

Due to these changes, Avery Dennison has developed several dedicated portfolios for the pharmaceutical market. The company has seen increased demand for its Syringe Portfolio materials, which feature S717P and S727 adhesives. These adhesives are ideal for small diameter injectable drugs packaged in pre-filled syringes, vials, and auto-injector devices that are used for injectable drugs.

“Avery Dennison’s Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Collection is a dedicated portfolio of label materials for consumer healthcare and ethical drug applications,” says Keller.  “Products in the portfolio have been independently tested, meet a wide range of regulatory standards, and come with a robust component change notification commitment of up to 12 months. In addition to the core Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Collection, several application-specific portfolios are offered, including Syringe, Blood Bags, and Cold Chain & Cryogenic.”

Navigating challenges

Pharma labeling is no small matter, as mistakes can be a life-or-death situation. Managing risk associated with drug package system approvals and/or changes is of utmost concern for pharmaceutical companies since ensuring efficacy and safety is the number one priority. 

“Sometimes, changes to label materials will trigger stability testing at the pharmaceutical company, which can take many months,” notes Keller. “Avery Dennison is mindful of these unique qualification requirements, which is why we minimize component changes and provide extended change notification when elective changes are made. 

“Additionally, Avery Dennison’s ISO 17025 certified analytical lab can be leveraged to support converters and end users to test pharma label materials in real world conditions to provide support data to facilitate packaging qualification testing,” adds Keller.

Smart labeling is another way to boost the pharmaceutical market. Avery Dennison, the largest UHF RFID partner, has been leading this digital transformation with integrated RFID solutions, including UHF, HF, and NFC, which have been widely adopted in pharma packaging for patient safety.

“RFID is transforming the pharma labeling market by enhancing patient safety through improved visibility from manufacture to point of care,” comments Keller. “It also offers automated protection against counterfeiting and diversion, ensuring the integrity of pharmaceutical products.”

Labeling opportunities

A wide range of new pharmaceutical drugs hitting the market have created an opportunity for label and package printers. According to Keller, biologic drugs represent the cutting edge of new pharma technology, with most biopharmaceutical companies spending up to 50% of their total R&D budget on it. This has greatly increased the demand for injectable drugs, especially GLP-1s to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. 

“Most injectable drugs are designed for single use and are contained in very small diameter formats such as pre-filled syringes, vials and auto-injectors,” explains Keller. “Among other things, these applications require label materials that have good adhesion performance on small diameters down to ¼”.”

There are a few key considerations for this market. “Pharmaceutical companies’ primary focus is on the safety and efficacy of the drug products they develop, which is regulated by the FDA,” says Keller. “In this effort, most pharma companies comply with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) regulations, specifically 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211, which cover Drugs and Pharmaceuticals.”

According to Keller, pharma companies are looking for label converters that have a strong Quality Management System in place and also follow GMP practices. Being able to have complete traceability of each label throughout the manufacturing process is also important, along with capabilities for 100% inspection, serialization, and multi-ply / extended content labels. 

“Many pharma companies look for the label converter to be a one-stop shop to not only provide labels, but also patient information leaflets and folded cartons,” states Keller. “When you choose Avery Dennison, you’re choosing a partner who understands the unique demands of the pharmaceutical industry and is committed to helping you succeed with innovative, compliant, and sustainable solutions.”