TekniPlex to introduce pharma-grade PET blister film

TekniPlex Healthcare, a Wayne, Pennsylvania-based materials science and packaging company, has partnered with Alpek Polyester to launch a pharmaceutical-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) blister film featuring 30 percent postconsumer recycled (PCR) monomers.

The company says that when the blister film is combined with its Teknilid Push polyester lidding, the film-plus-lidding blister system is fully recyclable in the polyester recycling stream where the infrastructure exists.

“This is the first time pharmaceutical companies have the option to incorporate a blister pack that that is fully recyclable and, at the same time, contains a significant portion of recycled material all while still meeting stringent pharmaceutical quality standards for product protection and consumer safety,” says Melissa green, head of global marketing for TekniPlex Healthcare.

“We anticipate high demand for this new, more sustainable film, as it meets ever-growing calls for elevated eco-friendliness in packaging across all sectors, including pharma.”

To create the film, PCR plastic scrap goes through a depolymerization process via chemical recycling, reducing the plastic back to monomers. After it is repolymerized to PET, the company says the result is a recycled resin that is “essentially virgin material.”

“Notably, such monomer-level deconstruction and repolymerization is impossible to achieve via traditional mechanical recycling methods,” TekniPlex says. “The end product from Alpek’s polymer reactor is a sheet in master reel made according to the melt-to-sheet process.”

The film has met pharmaceutical requirements for PET as outlined in the European Pharmacopoeia Section 3.1.15 and U.S. Pharmacopoeia Section 661.1.

Among other benefits, TekniPlex says adopting its PET blister film with PCR content allows pharma companies to stay ahead of pending sustainability legislation.

The PET blister film will be introduced at Pharmapack Paris on Jan. 24-25.