How the Packaging Qualification Service supports manufacturers to accelerate product launches

Many pharma manufacturers still check the resilience of their packaging manually. That is not efficient to guarantee a maximum product protection, smooth integration of the packaging solution into production processes and a fast time-to-market. 

Manual drop tests from the table are not the best way to examine the product protection of pharma secondary packaging. Failing to pass the strict & mandatory shipment tests can result in project delays of three months and even more. What if you could shorten the development process of your pharma packaging by testing it at any stage? And get immediate & concrete recommendations for adjustments?

That’s exactly what Körber offers with its new Packaging Qualification Service: "We can give our customers the opportunity to quickly and flexibly test a wide range of properties and behaviors of their folding boxes and to draw valuable conclusions for the optimization of their packaging", explains Patric Buck, Head of Innovation Packaging Materials in Körber‘s Pharma Business Area. "This saves them the sometimes very time-consuming search for available external testing laboratories." Körber offers this service regardless of whether the folding boxes have been developed in-house or by another provider.

See the effectiveness for yourself: Discover how the Packaging Qualification Service helped Dipharma SA, a pharmaceutical company specializing in rare disease medications, overcome the challenge of friable tablets. In this case study, read about how a custom revamp and a thorough drop-test of the packaging increased product safety by a factor of four, benefiting the patients who rely on these medications.

Free-falling, tensile & compression tests reveal the packaging's resilience

Among other things, the Packaging Qualification Services include tests on the resilience of the packaging and on product protection during production and shipping. For example: By simulating the packaging free-falling onto its corners, edges and surfaces from a defined height, pharma companies can demonstrate that the packaging is intact after the drop and that the product is not damaged. 

Furthermore, tensile and compression tests are carried out to prove that adhesive bonds can withstand defined tensile and compressive forces and that perforations tear cleanly and in a clearly defined manner. In addition, the forces required to open the packaging or perforation can be tested. Abrasion tests are carried to test the resistance of cardboard surfaces to mechanical stress, liquids, and lubricants.

Climate & product ageing simulations put pharma packaging to the test

A climate simulation can also be used to test the behavior of folding boxes under specific environmental conditions. At temperatures of -75 °C to 180 °C and a relative humidity of 10% to 98%, extreme transport and storage temperatures, for example of Covid-19 vaccines or in tropical regions, can be simulated, as well as the aging of a product over its life cycle.

Tests such as resistance to creasing, friction coefficient and erecting force provide information on the machinability of folding cartons on high-performance packaging machines. The resistance between the individual cardboard blanks, the coefficient of friction, influences the smooth feeding of the folding box blanks into the system.

In addition, the creasing resistance defines the force required to fold the blanks and to bend and flip the tabs. These tests can therefore ensure that blanks from different suppliers are also reliably suitable for use in the machines, without time-consuming adjustment of system parameters.

Looking for more information?

Download our PQS brochure to learn how we can help you accelerate your product launches with our one-stop packaging service and see our high-quality and innovative services for yourself in this case study.