TekniPlex Healthcare unveils pharma-grade PET blister film for enhanced medication packaging

USA – Materials science and packaging enterprise TekniPlex Healthcare has collaborated with Alpek Polyester to introduce a pharmaceutical-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) blister film, incorporating 30 percent postconsumer recycled (PCR) monomers.

According to the company, when coupled with its Teknilid Push polyester lidding, the film-lidding blister system attains full recyclability within the polyester recycling stream, where appropriate infrastructure is in place.

Melissa Green, Head of Global Marketing for TekniPlex Healthcare, highlights the significance of this advancement, noting that pharmaceutical companies now have the option to integrate a blister pack that is entirely recyclable.

Simultaneously, it contains a substantial portion of recycled material while adhering to stringent pharmaceutical quality standards for product protection and consumer safety.

She anticipates a robust demand for this environmentally conscious film, aligning with the escalating calls for heightened eco-friendliness in packaging across various sectors, including pharmaceuticals.

The manufacturing process involves subjecting PCR plastic scrap to a depolymerization process through chemical recycling, resulting in the reduction of plastic back to monomers.

Following repolymerization to PET, the company asserts that the outcome is a recycled resin akin to virgin material.

TekniPlex underscores the impossibility of achieving such monomer-level deconstruction and repolymerization through conventional mechanical recycling methods. The ultimate product from Alpek’s polymer reactor is a sheet in a master reel crafted through the melt-to-sheet process.

The pharmaceutical-grade PET blister film, meeting stringent standards outlined in the European Pharmacopoeia Section 3.1.15 and U.S. Pharmacopoeia Section 661.1, offers several advantages.

TekniPlex emphasizes that adopting this PET blister film with PCR content enables pharmaceutical companies to proactively comply with impending sustainability legislation. The debut of the PET blister film is scheduled for Pharmapack Paris on January 24-25.

In a strategic move unveiled last June, TekniPlex disclosed plans for a new 200,000ft² production facility in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Expected to commence operations in early 2024, the facility will house advanced manufacturing equipment, substantially augmenting the company’s lamination capacity across a diverse range of materials.

TekniPlex underscores its commitment to environmental efficiency, with all newly installed equipment incorporating technology to minimize energy consumption and process waste.

The implementation of a comprehensive factory-wide trim waste recovery system is poised to maximize the plant’s environmental sustainability.

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