Denny details challenges in pharma labeling

The event was designed to examine the packaging and labeling challenges now facing the healthcare sector and was targeted at delegates from the pharmaceutical arena.

BBC TV’s Dr Rosemary Leonard was the keynote speaker, and, talking from a GP’s perspective, she highlighted the critical role that packaging and labeling plays in delivering clear messages on drugs – especially where the elderly and those taking multiple medicines are concerned.

Omar Ali, an educational consultant to the NHS, expanded on this subject further and emphasized the extent of the needless fatalities and injuries sustained as a result of poorly designed and branded labels.

Supporting speakers included Jim Kaye from Atlantic Zeiser, who discussed serialization and product coding. Denny Bros’ recently invested in this technology by purchasing a machine, which it has titled Validata. Validata is capable of adding characters, barcodes, 2D codes, graphics and even doctors’ signatures in variable, sequential and alpha numeric formats to its Fix-a-Form multipage labels. 

Paul Beamish, from linerless labeling specialist Ravenwood Packaging, explained the green advantages of labels with no backing paper. Denny Bros and Ravenwood plan to develop a new labeling concept for multi-layer linerless labels.

Both Validata and Ravenwood’s Nobac 500 linerless system were demonstrated during the event, alongside additional machinery demonstrations included Denny Bros’ new Xeikon digital colour press and sister company Willowbridge Label’s Ditac Braille Embosser. The event also included a tour of the key areas of Denny Bros’ pharmaceutically accredited facility.

Stephen Jarrold, sales and marketing director at Denny Bros, completed the line-up of speakers with his presentation entitled ‘A Cure for the Information Headache’, in which he highlighted how Fix-a-Form labels can offer an option, in particular the problems and issues raised by Dr Leonard and Omar Ali. 

Jarrold said: ‘The day was a great success and the feedback we have received in terms of our speakers has been fantastic. Overall it has been an education and one that we hope our delegates have learnt from considerably.

‘It was also beneficial to be able to demonstrate the different types of technology we are able to provide in assisting with the compliance of pharmaceutical labelling – especially our new Validata machine.’