Entries are now being accepted for the The Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council's Compliance Package of the Year competition through Friday, June 29, 2018. The competition recognizes leading pharmaceutical adherence/compliance-prompting packaging and is open to all firms involved in compliance/patient reminder pharmaceutical packaging. 

The HCPC will be accepting adherence-prompting packaging entries introduced in the 2017 market year from pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers. The packages will be judged by industry professionals external to HCPC membership.

“Compliance-prompting packaging, typically in calendared blister packs, and also known as patient reminder packaging, has a proven track record in improving patient adherence, stated Walt Berghahn, HCPC executive director. This track record was shared with the FDA and other stakeholders late last year when the FDA hosted a workshop on Packaging, Storage, and Disposal Options To Enhance Opioid Safety.

Following the workshop, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb stated “. . . the FDA is supporting the use of blister packaging to stem the nation’s opioid crisis by promoting shorter duration initial prescriptions by doctors. If more immediate release opioid drugs, in particular, were packaged in three or six-day blister packs; then more doctors may opt for these shorter durations of use.”

Qualifying packages for the Compliance Package of the Year category must: 1) be in a compliance-prompting format with at least one patient adherence assistance feature; 2) have been commercially available – anywhere in the world – during 2017; 3) not require drug products to be repackaged by patients and 4) be in a child- resistant format, if intended for home use, per CPSC guidelines. There are no fees to enter.

A panel of judges will review each qualifying package and – based on numerical scores awarded by the judges – one commercial package will be named HCPC’s 2017 Compliance Package of the Year and three other industry packages will be declared First Runner-Up, Second Runner-Up and Most Innovative Design, based on the judges’ scores. Awards for packages in the 2017 and 2018 market years will be presented at the HCPC’s Spring 2019 members meeting taking place in Charleston, Va.

Winning entries will receive publicity on the HCPC website and through anticipated coverage by trade press. Competition guidelines and entry form are available at www.hcpconline.org.