Dr. Pfleger Arzneimittel GmbH is a Germany-based healthcare company that has operated for nearly 80 years with the motto that people are what counts.
They manufacture, develop, and distribute more than 60 medicinal products and medical devices in the fields of urology, dermatology, and gynecology, as well as home care medication for pain, hoarseness, and hair health.
In March 2021, Dr. Pfleger approached ETIMEX Primary Packaging GmbH to develop a fully recyclable blister for their well-established ipalat throat pastilles as a sample. In addition to being offered in an aluminum can format, this initiative aimed to introduce sustainability to customers by providing product samples in a recyclable packaging variant using the PURELAY polypropylene (PP) monoblister.
From test run to product samples
Once they identified their packaging goal, they commenced development work. Dr. Pfleger, in collaboration with ETIMEX, embarked on a rigorous testing phase utilizing the new material. Dr. Pfleger received several small rolls of the mono PP to conduct numerous test runs on their own machinery. Having ETIMEX developers on-site was helpful for efficient testing—they were able to assist directly for machine conversion.
After successful testing, they produced an initial monoblister to check the new design for haptics and ease of push-through. The pharmaceutical industry faces unique challenges on the way to a new package: sample preparation times are typically long since specifications must be met as precisely as possible.
Sample in the new monoblister
Despite these hurdles, after two years of development, they successfully validated the PURELAY blister. The monoblister is now available to consumers, allowing them the opportunity to sample products through individually removable pastilles.
As Dr. Pfleger highlights, the world needs future-oriented companies across all sectors, and with the long development and testing times that pharmaceutical companies face, there’s no time like the present to begin. Dr. Pfleger Arzneimittel's commitment to people-centric innovation prioritizes forging new paths that positively impact both individuals and the environment.
