Established in 1901, Teva produces approximately 76 billion tablets and capsules a year at 49 manufacturing sites in 26 countries. At its manufacturing site in Runcorn, North West England, Teva manufactures sterile pharmaceutical products that consist of syringes and nebules.
Highly regulated packaging
The Teva Runcorn products require several layers of packaging. The cartons are made from Holmen’s Incada Folding Box Board.
“Because we produce sterile pharmaceuticals, medicines that are administered directly into people’s systems, our packaging requirements are highly regulated,” says Leanne Carter, Packaging Development Specialist, Teva UK.
Material requirements
“The regulatory requirements are mainly about making sure that no nasties leak from the packaging materials into our products, such as inks. When we develop products, we need to do stability tests. We also supply legal documentation on all aspects of the packaging. This means that if we want to make any changes or updates, from the carton inwards, then we must test it again. Therefore, it’s really important for us to get it right at the design stage.”
Consistent quality and traceability with Incada
It is partly for these reasons that the Runcorn site uses Incada paperboard for all its cartons.
“We know there’s no variation with Incada,” says Carter. “Consistent quality and performance are always ensured. It is also important for us to use virgin materials. That way we have full traceability of where the materials come from.”