When a Pill Bottle Won’t Do: Ampules Offer Benefits for Liquid Rx

A creative pharmaceutical packaging design from IBSA Pharma makes it easy for patients to take their proper daily dose of Tirosint-SOL, a hypothyroid medication with a novel liquid formulation. The pack format features a patented monodose ampule for convenience, portability, and precise dosing.

Tirosint-SOL (levothyroxine sodium) oral solution is filled into the plastic ampules, which are then packed in an aluminum pouch. A strip of five ampules is packed into each pouch, and six pouches are packed into each paperboard carton, delivering 30 days’ worth of medicine.

To use the product at home, the patient opens the foil pouch by tearing the edge along the dotted line, removes the strip of ampules, and detaches one. Each of the ampules has a flat, twist-off top. Patients remove the top and either squeeze the contents of the ampule into their mouth or into a glass of water.

The opaque ampules and foil pouch protect the product, maintaining “the stability and potency of liquid levothyroxine, which is sensitive to both light and humidity,” an IBSA Pharma spokesperson explains. “The shelf life of the product is 18 months from the date of manufacture.”

Consumers can purchase Tirosint-SOL from retail and mail-order pharmacies, and IBSA Pharma also sells the medication to hospitals.

The product is available in 15 dosage strengths, and the cartons and ampule tops are color-coded by dosage strength for the convenience of patients and pharmacists. The ampule tops are labeled with the product’s brand and generic names, dosage strength, and a data matrix code for in-hospital use.

Manufactured in Switzerland, the product offers an alternative to conventional levothyroxine tablets, which contain a variety of inactive ingredients. Tirosint-SOL contains only levothyroxine, glycerol, and water.

The product “is free of excipients that may cause tolerability or absorption issues,” the spokesperson says. “Tirosint-SOL’s unique formulation skips the dissolution phase required of all oral solid drugs, allowing its active ingredients to bypass many of the absorption constraints observed with traditional levothyroxine tablets.”