Smart packaging

What is Smart Packaging (SP)?

Packaging that incorporates advanced technologies to perform additional functions beyond just containing the product, such as data collection, monitoring, and communication.

What is the Internet of Things (IoT) in the context of Smart Packaging?

A concept where everyday physical objects are embedded with electronic functionality, enabling them to communicate with users and exchange data wirelessly over the internet.

What are the three main categories of Smart Packaging?

1. Active Packaging: Interacts with the product to improve quality and shelf life.

2. Intelligent Packaging: Communicates information about the product's state using sensors and indicators.

3. Connected Packaging: Integrates technologies like QR codes or RFID tags for enhanced interaction.

How can intelligent packaging communicate with users?

It can communicate with patients, caregivers, and suppliers, providing real-time data on product conditions and usage.

What is the purpose of compliance-encouraging packaging?

To improve medication compliance by helping patients adhere to their treatment regimens through features like reminders, tracking, and intuitive designs.

What are the most common overt anti-counterfeiting features in packaging?

• Holograms

• Optically Variable Devices (OVDs)

What are covert anti-counterfeiting features, and who typically uses them?

Hidden features like invisible printing, embedded images, and digital watermarks. They are typically used by brands and regulatory bodies to check authenticity.

What is the Yellow Card Scheme, and how is it related to smart packaging?

The Yellow Card Scheme is a system for reporting side effects of medications. Smart packaging can help patients log side effects, which can then be reported to the scheme if they are not mentioned in the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL).

What is the role of Near Field Communication (NFC) in connected pharmaceutical packaging?

NFC tags encapsulate product information and can be read by smartphones, allowing patients to track medication adherence, add new prescriptions, and confirm doses by tapping the tag.

What are the pros of Smart Packaging?

• Enhanced product protection

• Active monitoring & communication

• Improved supply chain efficacy

• Enhanced patient experience

• Sustainability & environmental awareness

What are the cons of Smart Packaging?

• High cost

• Risk of data theft

• Risk of technology malfunction

• Not user-friendly for some patients (e.g., elderly or those with limited technological literacy)