Cost issues are driving this push. Some pharmaceutical firms are focusing on areas of specialization, such as cancer therapies, where they believe they can see a more expedient return on investment compared to long-term investments in developing potential blockbuster drugs.
At Pack Expo, suppliers such as Nutec Systems were touting machinery geared toward CPs. In this instance, Nutec was serving as the distributor for the CPI (Carton Print Inspect) Express machine manufactured by Certified Machinery Inc.
The inline digital machine prints lot and expiration dates, and 2D bar codes. Built on rollers, the portable machine can be moved as needed, not bolted to the floor for a single purpose. The machine provides track-and-trace serialization. At Pack Expo, the machine was fitted with an APS Apsolute thermal ink-jet printer.