Many have made a move toward using polyethylene terephthalate, a recyclable material that combines the clarity of glass with the safety of plastic and acts as a barrier to both moisture and oxygen. The nutritional supplement market, which is made up of many small manufacturers who may not be able to afford blister packaging, is a particularly strong growth area for bottles. As a result, some suppliers are offering polypropylene for blister packaging and metallocene polyolefins for flexible packages such as IV pharmaceutical bags. For instance, an FDA rule, scheduled to be finalized this past July, aims to improve legibility on OTC labels. Word usage on labels would be standardized with simpler language, larger type, and more-prominent warnings and side effects.
Manufacturers still await a final rule on control procedures for cut labeling.
While some packagers complain the regulation will be too costly, others are responding by increasing their use of machine vision to ensure label accuracy. Vision and other packaging technologies, from data-collection systems to robotics used in drug dispensing, are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Also on the drawing board is the industry's proposal to make changes to the packaging process without prior FDA approval. A written proposal could come within a year, according to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Given the challenges of increasing patient compliance with drug regimens and competing with numerous prescription and OTC products, drug manufacturers may be tempted to turn solely to other mediums, such as advertising or patient inserts.