Pharma Blister Security & Branding

Security and Brand Identity in Pharma Blisters

An Opportunity with Printed Cold Form Foil

When patients recognise the brand of the drug being prescribed, and are confident that it is genuine, they are much more likely to take the medicines correctly, improving their effectiveness, and therefore the patients’ health outcome.

Packaging is the key carrier of information to the patient, and numerous measures have been taken to add anti- counterfeit and brand identity features, but so far with very limited success, as the burgeoning global trade in fake drugs, and poor patient adherence data will testify.

This article discusses a simple option for those drugs packed in Cold Form Foil, which could be implemented in short order for minimal cost.

A Brief History of Cold Form Foil

Cold Form foil (CFF), also known as alu-alu, was introduced in the 1970s in Europe, and has since become the preferred blister base for the most sensitive oral dose products for the majority of Pharmaceutical companies in Europe, the Americas and more recently Asia-Pacific.

The original CFF specification remains almost unchanged since its invention, with a single structure still accounting for well over 90% of global usage. With worldwide production now approaching 60,000…