‘Smart’ vial cap reminds patients to take their medicine
pharmafile | August 24, 2010 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Med Time, RexamÂ
UK packaging giant Rexam has thrown its weight behind a ‘smart’ pill vial that reminds patients when to take their medication.
The company’s Rexam Plastics division has teamed up with US company Med Time Technology to offer The Pill Timer, a high-tech cap for plastic medicine vials that indicates when a dose is due using a combination of audio and visual alerts.
The objective is to improve patient adherence to dosing and reduce treatment failures, adverse events and hospital admissions caused by non-compliance, which is estimated to cost the US economy $300 billion and cause 300,000 deaths a year.
Med Time Technology’s device can be programmed by either the pharmacist or patient and senses when the bottle is opened and a dose has been removed. When the next dose is due, an alarm sounds for 20 seconds and a red LED flashes for one minute.
The disposable device delivers hourly prompts if a dose is missed, and an LCD displays the time the last dose is taken, flashing if it is overdue. Up to 100 dosing commands can be programmed into the device, according to Med Time Technology.
“Until there is a cure for diseases or chronic condition, the next best thing we can do to help patients maximise health benefits and minimize risk of treatment failure is by taking medications on time,” commented Ian Shendale, Med Time Technology’s chief executive.
Rexam Plastics is the leading manufacturer of plastic prescription vials in the USA – in turn the largest market for this type of pharmaceutical packaging – so its support is a major coup for Med Time Technology.
The companies said they would shortly be introducing The Pill Timer Cap on Rexam vials in pharmacy chains in the USA.
“Innovative packaging solutions to medical problems is the lifeblood of our business,” said Mike Vanderpol, Rexam’s sales director.
“This strategic alliance enables our customers to help patients with chronic illness and life threatening diseases by effectively managing a medical condition with proper medication management,” he added.
Rexam has a history of investing in high-tech devices for its medicine vials and bottles. In 2007 the company announced a collaboration with a radiofrequency identification specialist, Traxxec, to add RFID tags to vials in order to track them through the supply chain. It also acquired a similar technology when it bought rival plastic packaging firm Owens-Illinois in the same year.
Phil Taylor
Related Content
Pharma manufacturing news in brief
A round-up of pharma manufacturing news, including facility updates from MeadWestvaco, Rexam, Almac, UPS and …
Rexam shuts down US pharma packaging plant
Packaging giant Rexam has said it will close its healthcare packaging plant in Nashua, New …
Reshuffle at Rexam creates healthcare unit
Packaging giant Rexam is merging three of its units into one global healthcare division headed …
