Now more than ever, consumers are focusing on health and wellness. The COVID-19 pandemic has led many to re-evaluate how they prioritize their health, and the pharmaceutical industry will play a strong role in that endeavor.

As many people venture to their doctors for immunizations and check-ups, the potential for increased pharmaceutical labeling exists. While the vast size of this industry is nothing new, the global pandemic will only reinforce its growth.

All of that latest label and packaging trends are poised to impact pharma labeling, too. According to Avery Dennison, a substrates and adhesives supplier based in Mentor, OH, USA, counterfeit pharmaceuticals comprise $200 billion annually. The rise in e-commerce and tele-medicine during this age of social distancing will not lower that number, either.

Plus, an aging population and greater access – through e-commerce – presents a significant opportunity for growth.

Avery Dennison, for example, has developed three specific portfolios to answer the latest trends. The company’s Medical Device Portfolio is accompanied by the Pharmaceutical Intelligent Label Portfolio and the Pharmaceutical Security Solutions Portfolio.

“Our dedicated portfolio of key paper and film products offers tailored options for a variety of applications,” notes Cory Keller, senior product manager – Pharma, Avery Dennison. “Plus, our customer-ready products offer an added layer of security, lessening the chances for issues such as contamination and recalls. The portfolio provides an easier way to understand and introduce pharmaceutical labeling solutions, and an improved range of products addressing simple to complex application needs. Plus, we offer quick lead times and shorter time to market with the use of pre-tested constructions.”

Avery Dennison’s Pharmaceutical Intelligent Label Portfolio delivers a range of RFID inlays designed specifically for use with pharmaceutical label materials for a broad range of applications that includes blood and IV bags, syringes, medical equipment and more. Meanwhile, the Pharmaceutical Security Solutions Portfolio offers a range of pressure sensitive label materials designed to provide tamper-evident brand protection for pharmaceutical applications, which include fiber tears and voids, as well as frangible and sharp tear labels. The Medical Device Portfolio has been designed to meet IEC 60601-1 (national standard for safety testing of electrical medical devices), which deems labels as a critical component of a medical device. All specs are UL-certified on substrates.

“Pharma labels need to be highly engineered to meet a wide range of application requirements, which can include exposure to sterilization processes, small diameter containers, extreme temperatures and low migration adhesives,” explains Keller. “In addition to good product performance, pharmaceutical companies often desire label materials to come with assurances of component change minimization and robust change notification - products in Avery Dennison’s pharma portfolio provide such assurances with change notification up to 12 months.  We also maintain a Drug Master File Listing with FDA, which helps end users with FDA approvals of the labels, specifically by providing formulation information to determine if the adhesive is safe to use in the application.”

The COVID-19 pandemic will only increase spending in this area. According to Keller, biological drugs – like the COVID-19 vaccines – often represent the cutting-edge of biomedical research and, in time, may offer the most effective means to treat a variety of medical illnesses and conditions that presently have no other treatments available. For this reason, most large pharmaceutical companies are now spending 40-50% (or more) of their R&D budget on biopharmaceuticals.

“The pharmaceutical industry's migration to these new medicines injects tremendous complexity into the supply chain as they may need to be handled in ultra-low temperatures, such as Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine which must be kept at -75 C (-103 F) until it reaches administration sites,” says Keller. “Failure to maintain biologics at appropriate conditions at any point in the supply chain can harm the efficacy of the drug, result in the loss of a shipment, and put patients at risk. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) up to 50% of vaccines are wasted globally every year due to improper temperature management in the supply chain.”

Avery Dennison’s Cold Chain and Cryogenic Portfolio can help ensure clear identification of biological materials from collection to storage, transportation and delivery - even in harsh deep freeze environments like dry ice (-78 C/-109 F), as well as storage in liquid nitrogen (-196 C or -109 F). Materials in the portfolio can be applied to plastic and glass containers, tubes, and vials and well as aluminum canisters and other challenging surfaces.

The Pharmaceutical Intelligent Label portfolio can enable more accurate, real-time inventory management through the supply chain. Additionally, cost effective and reliable passive RFID inlays with moisture and temperature sensing capabilities are also available.

“As the world's largest UHF RFID partner, Avery Dennison is at the forefront of the digital transformation, developing leading integrated RFID solutions,” states Keller. “We offer UHF, HF and NFC solutions, and we’ve paired our pharmaceutical adhesives and IL inlays to create true pharmaceutical solutions to offer converters a one-stop shop. Using our experts in both the intelligent label and pharmaceutical label marketplaces, we offer converters the expertise needed to grow business in the developing pharmaceutical marketplace.”