Clariant and Sicpa SA, a Swiss speciality chemicals firm has launched Plastiward, an intergrated technology that is used for the protection of pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices, in India.
It claims to offer effective solution to tackle the problem of counterfeit products.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 8 percent of the medical devices in circulation are counterfeit, and Interpol estimates USD 75 billion in counterfeit pharmaceuticals enter the market every year. Clearly, counterfeit medical devices pose a significant liability to their manufacturers and a risk of injury, permanent disability, or even death to both patients and healthcare providers.
The company aims to provide users the safe access to treatments, as there are a lot of fake devices mixed and supplied, which the makes its way into the medical devices and pharmaceutical companies and the consequences are being faced by the mother owner.
Steve Duckworth, head of global segment healthcare polymer solutions at Clariant, said, "Plastiward offers medical-device and pharmaceutical-packaging companies a two-in-one approach. It combines Clariant's track record in developing polymer compounds and master batches tailored to the unique requirements of clients in those sectors with Sicpa's proven expertise in protecting brands and products."
He further added, "At Clariant, our 3C approach (controlled, consistent, and compliant) with our Mevopur products for the medical and pharmaceutical sectors is based on helping to control and minimise risks of potential changes and regulatory non-compliance- supply chain. Plastiward can add another element of risk reduction and protection, providing a robust, cost-effective, end-to-end, in-plastic system for protecting your brands worldwide."
Yann Ischi, director of new channels and partnerships at Sicpa, added, "Pharmaceutical companies have taken steps to reduce this risk. But the rise of e-commerce and access to new technologies has accelerated counterfeiting and other forms of illicit trade. That makes fighting counterfeit medical products an ever-more urgent priority for pharma companies - both in terms of patient safety and brand reputation. In the fight against the counterfeiting epidemic, we have to stay ahead through innovation. For plastic medical devices, Sicpa combined innovation expertise with Clariant to develop Plastiward, so that our clients can focus on the needs of their patients and doctors."
