Sanofi Joins Push for Plastic-free Blister Packs
An initiative seeking to bring to market a sustainable, scalable alternative to plastic blister packs for consumer health products has secured backing from Sanofi.
Sanofi Consumer Healthcare is throwing its weight behind an initiative to commercialize an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic blister packaging for medicines and dietary supplements.
Having already secured backing from other OTC heavyweights, including Haleon and Bayer, the Blister Pack Collective is working on bringing to market a sustainable dry molded fiber (DMF) tablet blister pack developed by packaging firm PulPac. (Also see "Sustainable Blister Pack Developer Secures Backing from Haleon and Bayer" – HBW Insight, Oct. 19, 2023.)
According to PulPac, its DMF technology offers a sustainable like-for-like, scalable alternative to plastic blister packs. Through a high-speed, low-cost production process, water usage and CO₂ emissions are minimized — leaving a 80% lower CO₂ footprint than wet-molded alternatives — creating an end product comparable to PVC packs in terms of design and tablet count.
The collective’s members are optimistic that the adoption of DMF will make a considerable dent in the more than 100,000 tons of plastic medicine packaging used annually. PulPac said last year it hopes in 2024 the collective will begin testing of DMF packs — including exploring brand-specific designs — alongside regulatory work and scaling up production.
SANOFI'S AMBITIONS
With DMF packs designed to be recycled in the same way as paper, Sanofi sees the technology as a way to reduce or eliminate its reliance on single-use plastic packaging.
“We are proud to be a part of the Blister Pack Collective, as we take significant steps to reduce our environmental footprint and contribute to a healthier planet,” commented Sanofi CHC’s global head of design, product sustainability and packaging innovation, France Depaix. “By fostering collaboration and adopting innovative solutions, we aspire to set new benchmarks for sustainability, inspiring our peers and partners to join us in this transformative journey.”
Sanofi has previously partnered with PulPac to support the development of a plastic-free medicines bottle. (Also see "Haleon and Sanofi Back PulPac’s Plastic-free Bottle Prototype" – HBW Insight, April 17, 2023.)
Finding alternatives to single-use plastic packaging is a central to the consumer health industry’s sustainability push. Global Self-Care Federation director general Judy Stenmark told HBW Insight in January that environmental sustainability was top of the agenda for the association this year. “In 2024, we will be building on the critical action that we achieved across our two environmental priority areas: plastics and packaging and CO2 footprint. We will engage with stakeholders around blister packs and sustainable packaging for non-prescription medicines and food supplements and to further research recycle-ready packaging.” (Also see "Association Focus in 2024: Self-care, Sustainability and Prospects for Political ‘Reorientation’" – HBW Insight, Jan. 16, 2024.)
EUROPEAN REGULATIONS
The push to eliminate plastics has been driven in part by proposals introduced by the European Commission which would require all packaging to be recyclable by 2030, with special provisions for medicines packaging, which would need to also be recyclable by 2035.
However, at the end of last year the European Council reached an agreement on the commission’s proposals that would completely exclude medicines from the requirement. The council said the recyclability requirements should not apply mandatorily to packaging in direct contact with the medicinal product, as well as to outer packaging “in cases where such packaging is necessary to comply with specific requirements to preserve the quality of the medicinal product.”
The final form of the regulation — the Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste — will now be determined in the trilogue negotiations among the council, commission and European Parliament. (Also see "Medicines and Medical Devices Should Be Exempt from New Plastic Packaging Rules Says EU Council" – HBW Insight, Jan. 10, 2024.)
