MWHP’s first use of the printed circuit is based on its AmeriStar award-winning dosepak™ (see packworld.com/go/c090), a child-resistant, yet senior-friendly folding paperboard carton containing a blister pack. The dosepak design permits discrete placement of a memory chip, according to MWHP vice president, business development, Thomas Grinnan. Cerepak samples are being evaluated by Contract Research Organizations (CROs) that run clinical trials for drug companies, Grinnan says.
Grinnan refers to the format as a “data capture device,” rather than a package. It can record time and date when each tablet or pill is removed and permits real-time “Quality of Life” input by the patient. Stored in the pack’s memory chip, the encrypted information is downloaded to a computer via a reader that resembles a PC mouse-pad. The reader that connects to the PC via USB port will cost less than $100, Grinnan says. The data can be uploaded and then analyzed securely via password over the Internet by a doctor or healthcare provider.
Cerepak offers 32 inputs in any combination of dose (pill/tablet) compartments and Quality of Life questions. Future chips will be even smarter, more economical, and more compact, Grinnan says.
Grinnan feels the fast, accurate feedback via cerepak in clinical trials offers several benefits including obtaining real-time data from patients that relates to drug efficacy. He expects a commercial application in 2005.
MWHP has shifted its cerepak production from lab to production scale, Grinnan says. MWHP is also working on a cerepak version in a wallet-style format.
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