Avery Dennison has announced the launch of AD Procerta, a new laboratory and testing facility service that is set to transform how the pharmaceutical industry navigates the often complex world of label material testing.

WHY IS IT NEEDED?

There are many variables involved when creating labels for pharmaceutical products, such as medications, which need to be executed and applied perfectly for patient safety. Understanding the numerous legal and regulatory requirements and how labels will perform in specific environments, to ensure that the labels are robust enough to meet the demands of the end-user. There are countless factors that need to be considered and pharmaceutical packaging engineers along with brand owners now have access to a service that can simplify and streamline this process.

“We identified a market need,” stated Benoît Jourde, senior manager new growth platforms Europe. “It is a market need that is not really fulfilled at the moment. Although there are some excellent third-party laboratories out there, they are either missing the expertise specifically on self-adhesive labels, or they have extremely long lead times.”

That’s where Avery Dennison’s long-standing history in materials science, combined with AD Procerta’s fresh, independent and reliable approach can prove valuable. It speeds up the process, provides fact-based information, and offers facilities that can accommodate specific testing methods.

THE LAB & EXPERTS

Leiden Bio Science Park in the Netherlands, is home to AD Procerta’s state-of-the-art laboratory, which provides access to a wide range of testing capabilities. “A variety of label-specific tests can be performed at the facility with the guidance of an expert team to determine whether a label material is suitable for a given application,” said Jos van Noort, principal scientist global pharma innovations, Avery Dennison.

“We simulate real-world conditions in our laboratories and narrow down the options for testing materials,’’ added Benoît. It offers customers a number of choices that have all been thoroughly tested in real-life scenarios, allowing them to compare and contrast the options fairly.

A few big pharmaceutical companies have piloted the service over the last two years, with the goal of launching it this year. “Having learned from these pilot customers, we’re now working with more than 5 large pharma firms and a few smaller ones as well,” said Benoit.

Avery Dennison’s products include pressure-sensitive materials for labels and graphic applications; tapes and other bonding solutions for industrial, medical, and retail applications; tags and labels for apparel; and radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions serving retail apparel and other markets.