Development of Blister Technology to Utilize Mono-Material PTP

CKD Corporation (Head Office: Komaki city, Aichi prefecture / Representative Director & President: Katsuhito Okuoka) has developed Japan’s first blister packaging technology capable of utilizing recyclable mono-material PTP (*1) as part of its efforts to reduce environmental impacts in the pharmaceutical packaging field.

１．Background to Development
Conventional PTP sheets are made of a combination of a plastic pocket for holding tablets and an aluminum lidding material, making both sorting and recycling difficult.
In recent years, as progress is made in the shift to a recycling-oriented society as part of an effort to achieve carbon neutrality, the pharmaceutical packaging field is also seeing growing demand for designs that anticipate recycling after use.
Against this backdrop, interest in mono-material PTP, in which both the pocket and the lid are made of a single material, has grown, and we have worked to develop a technology to achieve such products.

２．Details and Features of Development
Mono-material PTP sheets are a form of packaging well-suited for recycling because the lid film is made of resin, meaning the entire package is made of a single material. This will enable collection and recycling efforts in the future.
The technology can be mounted on our FBP-600E Series and FBP-300E Series blister packaging machines.

①Mounting on Existing Blister Packaging Machines
This technology can be mounted on our existing FBP-600E Series and FBP-300E Series machines. The ability to utilize existing equipment reduces the capital investment burden associated with environmental measures.

②Balancing Productivity and Quality
Changing the lid film to plastic requires new technological measures because the material characteristics are different from those of aluminum used in conventional PTP sheets. Through our development, we were able to stabilize quality while maintaining production capacity.

③Flexible Handling of Various Packaging Characteristics
Plastic lid materials used for mono-material PTP feature a wide range of physical properties and specifications; each must be handled in the appropriate manner. We have developed equipment that can flexibly adapt to these various packaging characteristics.

３．Helping Reduce Environmental Impacts
Our mono-material PTP technology aims to facilitate resource recycling by reducing the material used in packaging to a single material, making recycling easier.
We are actively working to reduce the environmental impact of the pharmaceutical packaging field. To date, we have introduced products such as ClearE-Sheet®, aimed at reducing the usage of plastic, and Biomass PTP, which uses more than 50% plant-derived raw materials.

４．Future Developments
We currently have an environment in place capable of manufacturing tests and technical verification of mono-material PTP. Going forward, we aim to enhance coordination efforts with pharmaceutical and material manufacturers as we look to achieve early commercialization.
We will also promote co-creation across industries, including with recycling-related businesses, and promote implementation across wider society as we look to enable resource recycling of pharmaceutical packaging.

*1) PTP… Press Through Pack, or PTP, is a form of packaging where the contents are pushed out using the fingers. Tablets are packaged in individual pockets; the packaging affords superior safety and portability. PTP is widely used for tablets and capsules.