...then another: Taking the air out of micro dosing

It's getting pointless to be upright, especially since AGI Dermatics of Freeport, NY, is discovering the benefits of all-position micro dosing for its newest microcirculation, or skin-stimulating, cream.

Fred Carr, president of Remergent Line/AGI Dermatics, recalls developing an immediate interest in the dispensing system when it was first introduced about two years ago. “We felt that it was unique, provided dosage metering, was compact and offered other features we wanted in a package,” he informs PD.

And so last year, after stability and other studies, Carr dedicated its new Remergent™ Microcirculation Therapy skin cream to the pioneering package, the Airless Metered Dose Pen from Lucas Packaging Group (www.lucaspackaging.com).

A winner in the New Jersey Packaging Executives' Club (NJPEC) competition, the over-the-counter product is sold, Carr explains, in between 600 and 700 physicians' offices and through the SkincareRx website. “It is being extremely well-received,” he notes.

He says that he sees the package, measuring just under 6½-in.-long, as an excellent vehicle for the cream, which reportedly bolsters the skin's microcirculation, relieves the appearance of under-eye fatigue and helps to encourage optimum balance of the skin.

With the 15-mL version of the package AGI uses, each package is designed to deliver 150 metered doses. The label copy suggests twice-a-day use.

Fabricated of polypropylene and high-density polyethylene components, the package functions by evacuation of air via an airless pump system. During the pumping action, air draws on a diaphragm in the product chamber. This in turn dispenses a metered quantity of the cream through an orifice at the container's upper end, where cleanliness is assured by a friction-fit PP overcap.

At the other end, a pushbutton cap opens with a counter-clockwise twist and alignment of two molded-in arrows. It closes by reversing the movement to prevent accidental dispensing.

The white Remergent container is decorated in two colors by a heat-transfer label.

The enclosed, airless system, says Lucas president Frank Francavilla, “enables all-position dispensing and means that the package can be used with active ingredients for formulations including lotions, gels, serums and liquids.” He also notes that the container is fillable by traditional methods.

Appreciation for the level of innovation of the Remergent package is the double award presented in the annual NJPEC competition. It captures the Technical Innovation award and then wins the gold award in the Pharmaceutical Packaging category.

Francaville says he sees a tremendous potential product range for the package, in that active ingredients can be readily used in its airless environment.

Along with the Remergent cream, the package dispenses serums, gels, ointments and lotions.

This is possible not only through the nature of the structure itself but also because the orifice is customizable, he confirms.

The company is also introducing two additional capacities to the 15-mL size used by AGI, and says the outer container can be molded in any PMS color and accepts a variety of decoration processes including heat transfer, hot stamping or screen printing.