Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News staff

This week at RxAdherence 2015, the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council (HCPC) announced the winners of its annual Compliance Package of the Year competition. HCPC, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has awarded compliance-promoting pharmaceutical packages annually since 1995. 

This year’s winners are:

• 2014 HCPC Compliance Package of the Year: AstraZeneca SEROQUEL XR 14-Day Sample Kit for Acute Bipolar Depression from MWV
• 2014 HCPC Compliance Package of the Year First Runner Up: Eli Lilly Strattera Physician Sample Pack from PCI
• 2014 HCPC Compliance Package of the Year Second Runner Up: Novartis Exforge HCT from PCI

According to HCPC, the SEROQUEL XR Bipolar Depression Titration Pack features:

• A calendared blister card that effectively educates the patient with Bipolar Disorder Depression on how to titrate to their appropriate dose of SEROQUEL XR. The blister card is labeled by day and dose on each individual pill cavity, starting with one pill of 50 mg on Day 1, two pills of 50 mg on Day 2, one pill of 200 mg on Day 3, and one pill of 300 mg on Days 4-14. Visual cues prompt medication taking and facilitate tracking.
• Extended label with easy-to-read information about the medication, the disease and dosing instructions, as well as easy access to an instant savings card for SEROQUEL XR.
• Impactful branding for AstraZeneca / SEROQUEL XR on the outer package’s readable, flat space.

“MWV and AstraZeneca partnered to design the SEROQUEL XR package to best fit the needs of the patient dealing with Bipolar Disorder Depression,” states John Grinnell, managing director, Secondary & Adherence, MWV Healthcare, in news release issued by HCPC. “The initiation of this medication regimen is complex, with daily doses and numbers of pills adjusting throughout the titration process. Both patients and providers needed a hands-on tool to help guide medication initiation. Packaging is the one tool that stays with the patient and the medication throughout the treatment journey, making it uniquely effective in providing titration support.”

HCPC Compliance Package of the Year program judges found the SEROQUEL XR package helpful. “This is what an adherence/compliance pack should be," states one judge in the release. "The pink color scheme is initially inviting, with a patient instruction book clearly attached to the outer carton. Descriptive details on the other side of the outer carton employ bold-faced type to make it easy for patients to read warning, child-resistant, storage, and other key details. Two simple steps allow for easy pullout of the blister pack containing the tablets for acute bipolar depression. The blister is printed with numbers 1 through 14 to emphasize each particular day’s dose.”

HCPC Compliance Package of the Year First Runner Up, Eli Lilly Strattera Physician Sample Pack from PCI, is for a treatment approved for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 and older, teens, and adults, reports HCPC. The Strattera Physician Sample Pack employs the MWV Dosepak design in titrating patients through their drug regimen, progressing them to the target dose. Color coding outlines dosing, identifying the starting dose of 18 mg and continuing for the first five days of therapy, progressing to 25 mg for the following five days, 40 mg for the next five, and reaching 60 mg. Other versions of the titration dosing utilize a 10 / 18 / 25 / 40 mg format, 25 / 40 / 60 / 80 mg depending on the weight of the patient. Each strength combination is denoted by a unique color configuration and identifies the recommended weight guidelines for the therapy.

The package also features a multi-panel label offering dosing instructions, patient education, and tips to avoid side effects and identifying optimal daily timing for doses, along with its boxed warning and safety information.  A patient information leaflet is also included for the patient in the cover panel of the Strattera Sample Pack.

One judge stated that “from a compliance/adherence perspective, this package offers impressive benefits. First, it offers graphic appeal and does a superb job of using easy-to-read type that should make it easily readable, even for seniors who might be helping to administer the capsules to children and adolescents. An easy-open carton front folds up, revealing essentially two additional panels. Treatment instructions are adhered to the top inner portion of the carton. Simple two-step opening instructions on the other inner carton panel yield access to target doses. Each blister is clearly marked with the dosage date in a folding pullout that’s easy to fold back into the primary carton. Much thought was put into the design on this pack, which functions easily for patients.”

The second runner-up is the packaging for Novartis Exforge HCT (amlodipine, valsartan, hydrocholorothiazide), which is indicated for the treatment of high blood pressure. Packaged by PCI for Novartis, the Exforge HCT blister package uses the MWV Shellpak Renew child-resistant design. According to HCPC, package graphics highlight the calendarized format, and colorful graphics on the primary blister unit employ colorful graphics to identify the starting dose and each daily dose as well as remind patients when the time to refill the prescription is approaching.  Other adherence tools featured include a patient savings card to support patients with script fills as well as suggestions for the patient to visit the website and join the Get On Track program. Also provided is the prescribing information leaflet. 

“The blister does a good job of delineating separate weeks through color and does a good job of including 4 weeks of therapy in one blister package extending compliance packaging to maintenance therapy which should have an impact on adherence,” one of the industry judges stated.

The Compliance Package of the Year winner and the First Runner-up will be asked to designate HCPC donated scholarship funds to a university-level packaging school focused on the pharmaceutical industry.

For more information on HCPC, please visit our website, www.hcpconline.org.