The world is in the middle of a global crisis that was caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted every sector, the healthcare sector has experienced a major impact.
The government, to their credit, has pushed support to companies to help combat the coronavirus.
So far, the health sector has received hospital equipment, testing kits, staff, and other resources required to eradicate this unprecedented challenge, and sterile medical packaging has proven to be the breakthrough we all pray for.
Before we proceed, let us summarize the Covid-19. This deadly virus originated from Wuhan, China, and was first recorded in December 2019.
All medical researches indicate the virus to be an infectious respiratory disease that is caused by SARS-CoV-2. The major challenge was that it was a completely new class of virus.
As a result, there was no remedy. After months of experiments and researches, medical practitioners and scientists are beginning to find a way out of this life-claiming virus.
What if we devised a way of preventing the transmission of the coronavirus? This is where sterilization comes to play.
Sterilization is playing a crucial role in preventing the transmission of the coronavirus. And sterile packaging via aseptic processing machine, nested filling line, and liquid filling machine leads the charge.
The use of sterile packaging for medicines will see massive growth in the near future as many prominent companies are persistently manufacturing sterile medical packaging, such as wraps, containers, and pouches to protect products against unintended transmissions.
Some of which include:
Jones Healthcare Group, a manufacturer of medical packaging and containers based in London invested in a new Uhlmann blister packaging line in July 2020.
The company intends to improve its production capacity to meet the increasing demand for blister packaging.
By using this highly automated and fully integrated two-lane equipment, Jones Healthcare Group would deliver the highest flexibility and productivity for blister packaging, including a full aggregation and serialization solution for medicines.
In June 2020, Sharp announced the investment of $1.24 million in the expansion of its site in the UK after first opening in late-2019.
Sharp is a force to reckon with when it comes to pharmaceutical packaging and seeing the growing demand for commercial packaging of numerous drug formats, such as thermoform medical device kitting, bottles, capsules, syringes, and blister packaging, allows the company to cement its position in the industry.
Placon is one of those few companies that announced its faith in sterile medical packaging last year. The increasing demand for thermoformed plastic packaging products has motivated Placon into expanding its production capacity in Elkhart, Indiana.
Placon, which already has the headquarter in Wisconsin, will add four technologically advanced thermoforming presses that would deliver warehouse and cleanroom manufacturing space.
The Elkhart facility is ISO 13485 certified and is dedicated to manufacturing customized plastic packaging [including thermoformed clamshells and trays as well as BargerGard protective packaging made from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material] for the healthcare and medical industries.
In July 2020, Vireo Health International Inc., a multi-state cannabis company based in Vancouver, partners with eBottles420 to produce and distribute its terpene-preserving packaging system.
The main aim of Vireo is to produce a unique packaging system that is capable of preserving the cannabis flower by halting the loss of terpene and similar compounds occurring immediately after the harvest.
Below are some examples and features of the machines used in sterile medical packaging by MH Multipack Sdn Bhd. in Malaysia:
Features
Check the full specification: View Now
Features
Watch how the Fully Automatic Haemodialysis Complete line System is working: https://youtu.be/kLkfPPFERks
Features
Check the full specification: View Now
Covid-19 has accelerated the demand for sterile medical packaging and as a result, the sterile medical packaging industry is destined to exponential growth in the nearest future.
Even when a vaccine is discovered, the fear of another similar outbreak will likely retain or accelerate the demand for these products.
The potential drawback that may hinder the exponential growth of sterile medical packaging could be the necessary strenuous regulatory standards set by the government to ensure the sterility of the packaged content.