From chemical ingredients to the final packaging: how drugs are being packed?
When somebody purchases pills, she usually does not have any idea how long can be the road from initial substance to finally shaped and packed pill.
Author: Bill Reynolds
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Author: Kim Groome
Source: http://www.flickr.com
Author: jamesvandyke
Source: http://www.flickr.com
This mechanism is complicated and has to be carried out under special conditions. Manufacturing is the first step, then medicines need to be packed and repacked.
Following producing, the medicines are boxed up into bulk packages and send on. Pharmaceutical repackaging is often realised by an external company. This company gets medicines and then divides them into tinier packs, like blisters in boxes or plastic bottles. The packages, in which drugs are transported have to fulfil particular requirements. Sometimes the stable temperature is needed to save all the properties. That is the reason why some containers are specially insulated. The process is called a „cold chain”. For instance, some types of tablets or vaccines have to be kept in the fridge – in patient’s home also. The other case of pharmaceutical repackaging takes place in drug stores. Some patients come to the drug store to buy prescription medicines. The appropriate drug is made by pharmacist according to the physicians’ guidelines. So the pharmacies get larger amounts of particular ingredient, that are next divided into tinier parts, properly mixed and packed in smaller containers for patients. The pharmacist informs the client how to store this medicine and how much time it can be used without losing its properties.
A drug is an exceptional product, which has to be packed with special care and magazined in specific conditions. The whole process ensures that drug gets in user’s hands in perfect condition and its value is completely maintained.