Packaging

In this episode of the Over the Counter podcast, HBW Insight speaks to Kerry's RDA senior manager of immune and joint health, Sonja Nodland, about the opportunity for innovation that postbiotics represent for the consumer health industry. 

Viome Life Sciences launches VRx MyBiotics Toothpaste & Gel to complete its Oral Health Solution system; Liquid Core Gum’s Edge Performance made with its Liquid Core and Flavor Wave properties and distributed in packaging developed using sustainable cardboard tubes; and NOW Health Group launches Omega-3 Gummy Chews and E-Sport Reaction supplements.

Plastics – specifically the reduction of virgin plastic in packaging and the move to recyclable or refillable packaging – is one of nine priority topics Kenvue is focused on as part of its global sustainability strategy, according to the company’s global head of packaging innovation, sustainability and experience, David Lickstein.

Perfect Corp. identifies waste reduction at beauty retail as the most effective AI-driven strategy for improved sustainability, based on a survey of C-level industry executives summarized in its report, "The Most Influential AI Trends in Beauty and Fashion."

EU member states have agreed to routinely use a flexible process that can facilitate the use of multilingual packaging for prescription-only medicines.

A new pilot aims to take Brazil closer to ‘digital transformation.’

The Swiss drug regulator makes public the indications in drug marketing applications within 60 days of receiving them, but says the level of detail that companies provide on this front is inconsistent. It also promises to be more stringent when it comes to assessing claims by companies who are worried that their commercially confidential information will be disclosed.

The European Council adopts its negotiating position with regards to the Green Claims Directive, which aims to prevent greenwashing and empower consumers in making informed, environmentally conscious purchasing decisions. While small and medium-sized enterprises stand to specifically benefit from the Council's more flexible approach, companies in general may be allowed to make certain explicit environmental claims without third-party verification.

A targeted review of the rules on labeling for injectable medicines is being carried out in advance of a wider updating of labeling requirements that took effect in 2020.

Should the consumer health industry be exempt from the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive? This question is hotly debated by representatives from major flexible packaging supplier Amcor and OTC manufacturer Perrigo at the 60th AESGP Annual Meeting in Brussels, Belgium. 

Packaging manufacturer Logoplaste – supplier to major consumer health and cosmetics firms – speaks to HBW Insight about plastics and working with industry to develop alternatives.

Relevance, distinctiveness and credibility all matter when it comes to positioning OTC brands to grow within a crowded shelf and sluggish market, argue IQVIA Consumer Health and Ceuta Group in a recent webinar.

A survey of 1,000 EU health consumers commissioned by AESGP finds that OTC users see numerous benefits of digital patient information leaflets, but are agreed that information should also continue to be available in paper form.

About 10% of marketed medicines chosen at random in Denmark had “non-functioning” anti-tamper devices, leaving them open to possible interference.

Companies considered producers of single-use packaging in Oregon, Colorado and California must register with Circular Action Alliance, the leading (and currently only) producer responsibility organization, by 1 July 2024 under new state recycling laws.

There’s no simple answer to the question of how to make medicines packaging sustainable, says international recycling consultancy and Veolia Group subsidiary Circpack. “Manufacturers need to assess what works best for them, and recyclers will do the same,” Circpack analyst and circular packaging expert Filipe Vieira de Castro tells HBW Insight in this exclusive Q&A. “The best thing we can all do is put effort into finding common ground between systems, which comes down to better understanding the complexities between them.”

Guidance from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency says that the packaging of parallel imported medicines must make clear that they are for the UK market only.

The EU Parliament's Environment, Public Health and Food Safety committee takes a compromise position with regards to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. Medicines and medical devices should be exempt, but only until 2035, at which point the European Commission should check whether the development of materials and the recycling process have progressed, and may adjust this exemption accordingly.

Industry is wary of a provision in Germany’s medical research bill that would introduce standard clauses in the contracts agreed between trial sponsors and study sites.

Exclusion from procurement processes, confiscation of revenues, and a fine of at least 4% of annual turnover are some of the penalties the European Parliament is considering for greenwashing as part of its position on the EU Green Claims Directive.