Gerresheimer debuting new eco-friendly packaging at Pharmapack 2016

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—Gerresheimer will be presenting a number of impressive highlight products at this year’s Pharmapack on February 10 and 11, 2016 in Paris, France.

One of these is Biopack, the first eco-friendly containers for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.

Green packaging

“By using biomaterials our customers contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, thereby protecting the environment and avoiding unnecessary waste. Biomaterials are the renewable alternative to conventional PE/PET (polyethylene/Polyethylene terephthalate),” says Gerresheimer global executive vice-president of plastic packaging Niels Düring.

Sugarcane is one of the substances used to make biomaterials, producing a material with exactly the same characteristics as conventional plastics, and is also fully recyclable.

Duma Combi is the first Gerresheimer tablet packaging with a compartment for the patient information leaflet.

Space-saving leaflet compartment
Duma Combi is the first Gerresheimer tablet packaging with a separate compartment for the patient information leaflet. It increases the available space on the outside surface for attractive branding because the leaflet in the compartment contains the information that would otherwise be printed on the pack. The container’s rectangular design also makes space-saving packing for transportation possible.

Syringe system solutions to reduce tungsten residue for highly sensitive pharmaceutical drugs
Ready-to-fill syringes are becoming increasingly popular as primary packaging and as drug delivery devices. However, a number of pharmaceutical drugs are associated with extremely stringent requirements of their packaging systems.

Gerresheimer offers a range of options for the reduction or elimination of tungsten residue. For example, pins made of alternative materials that do not leave tungsten or other metal residue behind in the bore can be used for cone forming. Another way to reduce tungsten residue is to put conventionally manufactured syringes into a washing machine as an additional cleaning step after glass molding. A third option is the use of Cyclic Olefin Polymer (COP) as the syringe material.

Parallel mold cooling concept
Gerresheimer’s Medical Systems Division pools the company’s glass and plastics expertise, and worked on an optimization project implemented by the Plastics Technical Competence Center in Wackersdorf and the Center of Excellence for Syringes in Bünde, Germany.

Bünde uses injection-molded plastic nests as packaging for ready-to-fill syringes. In the past, these nests tended to buckle as a result of their complex geometry. The Wackersdorf-based mold and plastics specialists at Gerresheimer Regensburg GmbH soon realized that the key to optimizing the molds was to improve the temperature control system. A collaborative project involving the two plants delivered a solution that improved product quality and efficiency while reducing costs—a method for the conformal parallel cooling of the molds which is so innovative that a patent has been applied for.

Gerresheimer’s recently developed second-generation pick-and-place robot can be used in conjunction with any injection molding machine.

Second generation pick-and-place robots


The GMP-compliant optimization and standardization of Gerresheimer’s handling equipment shows the efficiency improvements that can be achieved in automation systems with the Medical Systems team’s know-how. The company’s recently-developed second-generation pick-and-place robot can be used in conjunction with any injection molding machine simplifying operation and maintenance at the production plant. The arrangement of the components has also been standardized.

Successful products in glass and plastic

Alongside the two major product innovations, Gerresheimer will have its well-known and very successful glass and plastic syringes, molded and tubular glass products for diverse pharmaceutical applications, as well as insulin pens and inhalers on show at the stand.

Pharmapack visitors can find Gerresheimer at Stand #801 and #802 in Hall 5.2, near the main entrance.

About Gerresheimer
Gerresheimer is a leading global partner to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The company’s special glass and plastic products contribute to health and well-being. Gerresheimer is a global organization with 11,000 employees and manufacturing operations in the local markets, close to customers. It has over 40 production facilities in Europe, North and South America and Asia generating revenue in excess of €1.3 billion (~CDN $2 billion). The comprehensive product portfolio includes pharmaceutical packaging products as well as convenient and safe drug delivery systems such as insulin pens, inhalers, pre-fillable syringes, vials, ampoules, bottles and containers for liquid and solid pharmaceuticals with closure and safety systems, plus cosmetic packaging products.

For company information, visit www.gerresheimer.com.

All images courtesy of Gerresheimer.