Importance of Appropriate Pharma Packaging of Ophthalmic Products

Undisputably, the eyes are one of the most important and highly sensitive organs in the human body. The slightest irritation in the eyes can cause extreme discomfort and lead to eye infections, swelling, allergies, challenge vision and may lead to permanent damage and cause loss of vision as well.

This is also the reason why Sterile and correct packaging of pharmaceutical products pertaining to ophthalmology is extremely crucial. We can further understand why the pharmaceutical packaging of ophthalmic products cannot have a window or possibility of an error during packaging, shipment and delivery.

What are some common Ophthalmic products?

Ophthalmic products are sterile preparations which include specialized dosage forms that are administered onto the external surface of the eye (inside or adjacent to the eye), contact lenses, specialized surgical implants, eye gels, lotions, powders, parenteral products, ophthalmic inserts, prefilled syringes, etc. All Ophthalmic products are required to stringently comply with  Test for sterility as per the pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging standards.

Different pharmaceutical companies employ various methods and materials to package Ophthalmic products. The most commonly used materials used for packaging of Ophthalmic products are plastic bottles which are generally made of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDP), Polypropylene (PP), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) etc depending on the specific product requirement.

Apart from plastic, traditional Boro-silicate (Type 1 glass) glass bottles with the rubber dropper which were commonly used until the 2000s but have now been replaced by Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) bottles.

Eye ointments continue to be packaged in Flexible plastic or Collapsable Metal Tubes.

In order to prevent contamination and leakage of product, Caps and Closures, nozzles etc are made using Polypropylene (PP). The Caps and Closure for Ophthalmic products are also Colour-Coded depending on their Pharmaceutical Class.

Importance of Correct Packaging of Parenteral Ophthalmic Products

Parenteral products are administered directly into the body tissue through the skin and the mucous membranes. It is also crucial that these products need to packaged with extreme care to ensure that the product is delivered with exceptional purity and free from all physical, chemical and biological contamination. The pharmaceutical packaging material used for ophthalmic products should not adversely affect the quality of preparation or allow any diffusion and the packaging must be insusceptible to leakage, contamination etc; besides including a tamper-evident seal.

The Pharmaceutical Packaging industry calls for stringent adherence to current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs) to ensure the packaging on delivery of ophthalmic products.

Several innovative and new pharmaceutical packaging formats are being developed every day to meet the growing requirement for sterile, safe and secure packaging and delivery of ophthalmic products across the world.

Apart from the packaging and delivery of ophthalmic products, the important information pertaining to the dosage, administration, product details, ingredients, storage, date of manufacture, date of expiry, manufacture details and other crucial information related to the product is found printed on the actual ophthalmic product. The vital product information found on the pharmaceutical packaging of ophthalmic products is also extremely important for pharmacists, doctors, patients and other health care professionals who are responsible for dispensing and administration of the ophthalmic product.