HCPC awards 2013 Compliance Package of the Year to Noven Therapeutics

The annual competition, conducted by the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council (HCPC; Reston, VA), is intended to highlight the role compliance (unit-dose) packaging plays in helping patients stay on therapy, helping healthcare providers improve outcomes, and helping the pharma industry better its value to all parts of healthcare. This year’s award, announced at HCPC's annual RxAdherence conference (April 8) is Brisdelle (paroxetine), introduced last November by Noven Therapeutics (Miami) as a treatment for vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. The competition is based on products commercialized in calendar-year 2013; judges are a panel of industry experts and publication editors, including Pharmaceutical Commerce’s Nick Basta.

The Noven compliance package features a calendarized dosing for 30 days, with graphics that guide the patient in self-administration, an easily located medication guide, and instructions to manipulate the child-resistant features (a requirement for pills packaged in unit doses such as blisters or foil pouches). The package design comes from the MeadWestvaco Dosepak, and the package and its components were manufactured by PCI (Philadelphia). The overall package “features great messaging to the patient on the billboard space,” according to one judge.

First runner-up for Package of the Year is Depomed’s Gralise (gabapentin) starter pack, a treatment for post-therapeutic neuralgia. The second runner-up is Mylan’s amlodipine besylate (the generic of Norvasc, for hypertension).

The 2013 Innovative Design award goes to the Mem.O.Ring, a short cylinder that can be placed around such medications as ophthalmic solutions, allowing the patient to note when the last administration occurred. It also has space for manufacturer branding. The product is being marketed by its inventor, High Reach Solutions (Cornelius, NC).

Package of the Year winner, first runner-up and innovation awardee will be entitled to designate HCPC-donated scholarships to a university-level packaging school