WO2009127736A1

WO2009127736A1 - Package for medical product

Info

Publication number: WO2009127736A1
Application number: PCT/EP2009/054669
Authority: WO
Inventors: Theodorus Antonius Maria Broeren; Johannis Gillissen
Original assignee: N.V. Organon
Priority date: 2008-04-18
Filing date: 2009-04-20
Publication date: 2009-10-22

Abstract

A package (100) comprising a plurality of external panels (2) mutually folded to one another to form an interior cavity for containing a product, particularly a medicament. At least one of the external panels comprises a window (34), and an integrally formed internal panel (4) underlying the window, wherein the internal panel comprises removable elements (20) carrying product specific indicia. Also disclosed is a method of printing product specific indicia onto the panels subsequent to forming the package.

Description

PACKAGE FOR MEDICAL PRODUCT

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0001 ] The invention relates generally to packages and more particularly to packages in the form of cartons and boxes for containing medical products. The invention furthermore relates to methods of manufacture of such packages from foldable blanks of card material and to methods of providing indicia to such packages.

2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] Many types of product are packaged for delivery to the user. Such packages may comprise a wrapping or primary packaging in which the product is directly retained, surrounded by an external or secondary packaging such as a carton or box. In general, the package may have the function of protecting the product during transport and storage. It may also provide information to the user regarding the content of the package and its use. The present invention is directed primarily to such external packaging. It is however understood that this external packaging may be further packaged into still larger packages such as wholesale boxes and shipping containers.

[0003] A preferred form of package is the cardboard carton. Cartons are generally formed by folding a preformed blank of card based material. The blank may be supplied with cuts and fold lines allowing easy assembly by hand or in a mechanized process. Usually, a single adhesive join is sufficient to form the blank into a rectangular tube. Flaps and tongues serve to close both ends of the tube after insertion of the product. Advertising, product information and the like is provided on the blank as supplied and must therefore be determined well in advance of the actual packaging operation.

[0004] In certain contexts, there may be a necessity to provide product specific indicia to the package in order to identify an individual product. If this indicia is to be applied to an external surface, it may be applied using a sticker or by printing onto the package during the packaging procedure. If it is desired that the indicia are provided inside the package this may suppose an inconvenience in the production system. One possible manner of providing product specific indicia is disclosed in US 6,354,065, which addresses this problem in the context of computer systems by inserting an item carrying product specific indicia into a package at the time of packaging. Such an arrangement suffers from the inconvenience that the indicia carrying item is a separate component that must be separately tracked through the packaging process in order to ensure that it is inserted into the correct package.

[0005] In the pharmacology field for instance, each package may also be specific to its medicament content. For this reason, product specific indicia may be required for every single package in order to uniquely identify the product or a batch of products. In this context, a batch of products is understood to refer to a single production run of a product based on the same batches of starting materials. It is also customary to provide information containing inserts accompanying the medication. This may also require product specific indicia. In such cases, one of the principal problems encountered is the further step of putting together the product information with the package. According to GB 2330572 there is disclosed a carton and a folded product information leaflet which is attached by adhesive to a flap of the carton during preparation of the carton. The carton is subsequently assembled and filled with a bottle of medicament. The carton is provided with an aperture through which information printed on the leaflet may be viewed. The leaflet may be removed from the carton by detaching the flap. In this case, the carton and leaflet are produced in separate procedures and their joining requires an additional step.

[0006] A particularity of certain pharmaceutical products is that the product specific indicia may need to be recorded by the doctor, chemist and/or consumer. An example of such a situation is the implantation of contraceptive devices such as hormonal rods (e.g. Implanon™ of N.V. Organon). This supposes a further step in recording the information. In present procedures, the product specific indicia relating to the implanted rod is provided on a user card and on removable stickers. These are supplied as separate items within the medication package. On insertion of the implant, the medical practitioner affixes the stickers to the patient's medical records and the user card is completed and given to the patient for safe keeping. Providing, printing and inserting a separate user card into the final package adds to the complexity of the production process.

[0007] In other contexts, it is known to provide cartons with detachable or movable cards for various reasons. US 6,070,719 describes a carton having an aperture through which a greeting may be viewed. US 6,393,707 describes a carton for medication that may be provided with a slide-rule. A cursor is integrally formed with the carton and can be detached by a user for sliding with respect to the carton. It is understood that the cursor carries preprinted information that can be aligned with windows formed through a wall of the carton. A similar arrangement is known from US 4,413,730. None of these devices provide the possibility of detachable product specific indicia.

[0008] Thus, there is a particular need for a package that at least partially overcomes these problems, which simplifies the process of packaging and is convenient in use for an end user.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention addresses these problems by providing a package formed by a plurality of external panels folded to one another to form an interior cavity for containing a product, at least one of the external panels comprising a window, and an integrally formed internal panel underlying the window, wherein the internal panel comprises removable elements carrying product specific indicia.

[0010] The package is formed of card material. In this context, the term "card" is taken to signify all materials that can be folded to achieve the desired result. It is understood to include cardboard, plastics, paper, textile materials and laminates and combinations thereof. From this card material, external and internal panels are integrally formed. In this context, the term "integrally formed" is intended to refer to a connection between the panels by being in one single sheet of card material. Accordingly all panels are comprised in the same blank, from which the package is formed.

[0011] Also in this context, the term "product specific indicia" is understood to refer to a marking which specifically identifies the individual product contained, or to be contained, in the package either individually or by batch. Such indicia are thus provided at a packaging stage and the term is understood to exclude indicia that are provided on printing of the blank itself. At least one external panel comprises one or more windows in the form of an opening to allow printing of the indicia onto the underlying removable elements. The windows are preferably open but it is understood that they may be covered by for example a transparent plastic layer whereby marking of the indicia takes place through the layer by appropriate means. A method for printing or marking through an outer layer onto an inner surface e.g. using UV sensitive films is shown in US 3,506,353, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. The internal panel, and preferably also the external panel, has at least an area where the indicia can be conveniently printed.

[0012] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the package comprises a plurality of windows each overlying a respective removable element. Preferably, the removable elements are each carried by the same internal panel and may be removed from it by different mechanisms as discussed further below, hi the present context, the term "removable element" is understood to mean an element that is specifically arranged for removal from the remainder of the package. Mechanisms for removal may include releasable adhesives, perforations, lines of weakness or the like. The skilled person will immediately understand that any element may be cut or otherwise ripped from the package for its removal but that such mechanisms alone are nevertheless understood to be excluded from the term "removable element".

[0013] In a most preferred embodiment the internal panel is adhered to a pull tab provided on an external panel of the package. In this way it is easier to grasp with the fingers and pull out the internal panel with the removable elements and thus, remove them from the rest of the package. A perforated or weakened line may be provided at the border of the internal panel that breaks when it is pulled out. Accordingly, the whole or part of the internal panel may be removed and thus, it may itself comprise a removable element.

[0014] According to a preferred embodiment the removable element is in the form of an adhesive sticker, which can be easily removed from the package and stuck onto a doctor's and/or chemist's record for example. The adhesive sticker may form part of a peelable layer or laminate formed over a larger area of the packaging blank during manufacture or it may be in the form of an isolated sticker applied to a releasable surface. According to a further preferred embodiment the removable element is in the form of a user card. Preferably the user card is formed as a credit card sized element being sufficiently durable to be kept in a wallet. To this end it may be formed of the same material as the carton blank or may alternatively be formed of a peelable plasticized laminate layer that can be removed from the blank, hi general, the removable elements will be greater in size than their respective windows. In this manner it is precluded that they may be removed until the package itself has been opened.

[0015] Another advantage of the present design is that according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, indicia may be printed through the window onto the removable elements subsequent to forming the package. Indicia may also be provided onto the external panels during the same printing operation. It is also possible to print directly through the window of the package onto the product within. To this end, the skilled person will of course understand that the removable element may also be provided on the product itself and that such an arrangement would constitute an additional inventive concept. In this context it is also understood that the product itself may be wrapped or packaged with a primary packaging on which the indicia may be provided.

[0016] According to an important aspect of the invention, the indicia may be provided on at least two different regions during a single procedure. These regions may be specifically arranged for subsequent separation. The two regions may comprise: two removable elements both provided on the internal panel; the internal panel and an external panel; an external panel and the product; the internal panel and the product; and any other combinations of the above. By providing the indicia on two separable items in a single procedure e.g. in a single print run, mistakes may be avoided. For a product and package that are separately labeled and then brought together, there is always the possibility of a mistake. Preferably, all the product specific indicia is provided on one surface of the package in order to facilitate its application in a single procedure.

[0017] In a particular embodiment, the package may comprise a medical product sealed within the interior cavity and the indicia may uniquely identify the medical product. Other methods of indelibly applying indicia will also be understood including e.g. branding or application of permanent stickers onto the removable elements.

[0018] According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a packaged product comprising a removable element carrying product specific indicia. The method involves providing a package comprising an exterior panel having a window and an internal cavity, providing a removable element underlying the window, inserting a product into the internal cavity and applying product specific indicia through the window onto the removable element. The fact that product specific indicia are applied subsequent to forming the package is extremely beneficial from a manufacturing perspective since it can take place at a late stage in the packaging procedure and even after the package has been sealed. This may save time during manufacture and thus, reduce final costs. It can also assist in reducing errors.

[0019] Preferably the method further comprises forming the package by folding a preformed blank of card material as described above. The card material may be folded to form a package at the point of packaging or may be supplied ready formed as a flat pack package.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the indicia are applied by use of an inkjet printing device. Other alternative printing devices may also be used including ink and laser based systems and the skilled person will be aware of further methods of application that may be used according to the circumstances.

[0021] According to a further preferred embodiment, the method further comprises integrally forming the removable element with an interior panel of the package. This may be achieved by laminating the removable element to the interior panel during manufacture of the blank. Alternatively, the removable element may be applied in the form of a releasable adhesive sticker. The removable element may also be integrally formed by providing perforations or other lines of weakness to separate it from the remainder of the package. Such methods may be used to form stickers, user cards and the like.

[0022] hi a further preferred embodiment of the method, the package comprises a plurality of windows and a plurality of removable elements is provided, each underlying a respective window. In this case the method may comprise applying product specific indicia through the windows onto each removable element. Further windows may be provided allowing printing of indicia or other markings directly onto the product too. The product may also carry a removable element such as a sticker that may be removed after opening of the package.

[0023] The invention also relates to a blank for forming the above described package. The blank comprises the external and internal panels and the removal elements having the areas where the indicia can be printed. The blank may be provided with suitable crease lines, perforations and lines of weakness to assist folding and use. [0024] Preferably the blank comprises a high quality card material, in particular provided on both surfaces with a polymer coating. The polymer coating increases the longevity of a subsequently separated removable element, in particular for a user card that may be carried for periods of three years or more. It will however also be understood that the two-sided polymer coating may alternatively be provided only in those regions required for the user- card.

[0025] Preferably, the blank material is more than 0.35 mm thick, more preferably, around 0.42 mm in thickness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The features and advantages of the invention will be further appreciated upon reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0027] FIG. 1 is a plan view of the outside printed face of a blank for forming a package according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0028] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the package formed from the blank of FIG. 1 before printing the product specific indicia;

[0029] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the package of FIG. 2 after completion of packaging and after printing the product specific indicia; and

[0030] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the package of FIG. 1 on opening, and after removing part of the internal panel carrying product specific indicia.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[003 ] ] The following is a description of an embodiment of the invention, given by way of example only and with reference to FIGS 1 to 4.

[0032] According to FIG. 1, there is shown a blank 1 comprising four external panels 2 and an internal panel 4. The external panels 2 include a rear panel 2A, a first side panel 2B, a front panel 2C and a second side panel 2D. Ears 8 are connected to side panels 2B and 2D. Bottom closure 10 and top closure 12 are connected to front panel 2C and rear panel 2 A respectively. A glue tab 14 is connected to internal panel 4. The external panels 2, the internal panel 4, the ears 8, the closures 10, 12 and the glue tab 14 are all connected at crease lines 6, which allow the blank to be folded.

[0033] The blank 1 is formed of 0.42 mm thickness, high quality card comprising a bleached chemical pulp three layer paperboard base, coated on both sides with a glossy polymer coating. The blank material is available from StoraEnso under the product name Ensocard Pharma TR. It is printed on the face shown in FIG. 1 with indications regarding its content. In the present example, it is designed for packaging an Implanon™ contraceptive rod applicator loaded with a contraceptive implant as supplied by N.V. Organon. To this end, it is provided on its internal panel 4 with a user card 18 and a pair of adhesive sticker 20. The stickers 20 are for application to a practitioner's client records on performing the implantation of the rod. The user card 18 is for retention by the patient. Both comprise blank fields 22 that allow information to be inserted such as the date of implantation and the location on the body. Also provided on each of the user card 18 and stickers 20 are printing fields 24 upon which will be printed product specific indicia to be described below.

[0034] The user card 18 and stickers 20 are provided on a separable section 26 of the internal panel 4. This section 26 is bounded by a perforation line 16 that follows the crease line 6 between the internal panel 4 and the glue tab 14 and which crosses the internal panel 4 at a short distance from the second side panel 2D. The region of internal panel 4 between the perforation line 16 and the second side panel 2D forms a glue strip 28 as will be described further below. A line of weakness 15 is formed across separable section 26 between the user card 18 and the stickers 20. At a bottom edge 30 of the section 26 is located a pull zone 32.

[0035] On its rear panel 2 A, the blank 1 is provided with a series of three apertures or windows 34. The windows 34 are aligned with one another and also with a print zone 36. Print zone 36 comprises a blank region of treated surface which is susceptible to printing by a regular inkjet printer without smudging or running. Also provided at a bottom edge 38 of the rear panel 2A is a pull tab 40. Pull tab 40 is delineated from the remainder of the rear panel 2 A by a perforation 42.

[0036] The blank 1 is delivered in its flat state to an assembly station (not shown) where it is assembled by conventional methods. Adhesive is applied to the glue tab 14, the glue strip 28 and the pull zone 32. The adhesive may be any adhesive available to the skilled person and suitable for adequately joining the facing polymer coated surfaces of the blank 1. The panels 2, 4 are then folded with respect to one another along crease lines 6 to form a square section tube with the rear panel 2 A overlying the internal panel 4. Pressure is exerted on the surfaces of the rear panel 2A and the first side panel 2B to join the glued components together. In this state, the folded blank 1 may be packed flat for delivery or storage or may be further assembled by closure of the ears 8 and bottom closure 10.

[0037] FIG. 2 shows a partially completed package 100 assembled from the blank 1 as described above. A medical product 102 in the form of a primary packaged Implanon™ applicator loaded with a contraceptive implant has been inserted into the package 100, which is ready for closing of the top closure 12 and completion of the packaging procedure.

[0038] FIG. 3 shows the closed package 100 after it has passed through a printing station (not shown). Product specific indicia 104 have been applied to the package 100 by an appropriate ink-jet printing device. More specifically, the indicia 104 have been applied to the user card 18 and stickers 20 by printing through the windows 34 of the rear panel 2A onto the printing fields 24. Additionally indicia 104 have been applied to the print zone 36. As the windows 34 and print zone 36 are aligned, printing of all indicia 104 may be easily achieved in a single pass of the printing device.

[0039] FIG. 4 shows the package 100 after opening by a user and removal of the removable section 26 carrying the user card 18 and stickers 20. Removal takes place by pulling on the pull tab 40 whereby the perforation 42 is broken. Since the pull tab 40 is adhered to the pull zone 32, the force is transmitted to the removable section 26 of the internal panel 4, which separates from the remainder of the package 100 along the perforation line 16. After the removable section 26 has been removed from the package 100, the user card 18 is broken away at the line of weakness 15 and the adhesive stickers 20 may be peeled off and affixed to the patient's records.

[0040] Thus, the invention has been described by reference to the embodiment discussed above. It will be recognized that this embodiment is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms well known to those of skill in the art. For example, the skilled person will understand that alternative materials and card qualities may be used for forming the blank; the glue tab may be omitted; the package may be modified by printing indicia only onto the internal panel and not onto the external panel; the pull tab may be presented in different forms; alternative forms and quantities of stickers and user cards may be provided; different mechanisms for removal may be used.

[0041 ] Further modifications in addition to those described above may be made to the structures and techniques described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, although specific embodiments have been described, these are examples only and are not limiting upon the scope of the invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of forming a packaged product comprising a removable element carrying printed product specific indicia, the method comprising: providing a package comprising an exterior panel having a window and an internal cavity, providing a removable element underlying the window; inserting a product into the internal cavity; and applying product specific indicia through the window onto the removable element.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising forming the package by folding a pre-formed blank of card material.

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising applying the product specific indicia to the exterior panel.

4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising integrally forming the removable element with an interior panel of the package.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the product specific indicia is applied by inkjet printing.

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the package comprises a plurality of windows and a plurality of removable elements are provided, each underlying a respective window and the method comprises applying product specific indicia through the windows onto each removable element.

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the removable element comprises an adhesive sticker.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the removable element comprises a user card.

9. A package formed of card material and comprising: a plurality of external panels mutually folded to one another to form an interior cavity for containing a product, at least one of the external panels comprising a window; and an integrally formed internal panel underlying the window, wherein the internal panel comprises removable elements carrying product specific indicia.

10. The package according to claim 9, comprising a plurality of windows each overlying a respective removable element.

11. The package according to claim 10, wherein the removable elements are carried by and removable from their internal panel by at least two different mechanisms.

12. The package according to claim 10 or claim 11 , wherein the removable elements are all carried by the same internal panel.

13. The package according to any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the internal panel is at least partially removable from the package.

14. The package according to claim 13, wherein the internal panel is adhered to a pull tab provided on an external panel of the package.

15. The package according to any of claims 9 to 14, comprising a removable element in the form of an adhesive sticker.

16. The package according to any of claims 9 to 15, comprising a removable element in the form of a user card.

17. The package according to any of claims 9 to 16, wherein the indicia are printed through the window subsequent to forming the package.

18. The package according to any of claims 9 to 17, further comprising a medical product sealed within the interior cavity and wherein the indicia uniquely identify the batch of the medical product.

19. The package according to claim 18, wherein the medical product is a contraceptive rod applicator loaded with a contraceptive implant.

20. The package according to any of claims 9 to 19, wherein the card material is provided on both surfaces with a polymer layer.

21. A blank for forming a package according to any of claims 9 to 20, the blank comprising the external and internal panels and the removal elements having areas where the indicia can be printed.