German company Schreiner MediPharm has developed a smart blister pack for digital patient compliance monitoring in partnership with the Dutch technology company Experts in Communications and Connectivity Technology (ECCT), to enhance medication adherence by clinical trial participants.
The smart packaging solution was developed for an undisclosed multinational pharmaceutical company, which will deploy the electronic tool to manage and track processes during clinical trials.
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Schreiner noted that clinical trials require high accuracy, reliable workflow, efficiency, speed and flexibility and the new tool is designed as an alternative for non-automated processes that are error-prone.
A successful outcome of clinical trials depends on medication adherence by participating patients, which is often difficult to track.
Generally, non-adherence to the therapy among patients stands at 20%, which results in an increase of the patient population by 60% to make up for the lack of clarity in the results, the company noted.
When patients press a tablet out of the new smart blister pack, data is generated in real time, for example, medication type, extraction time and the respective cavity.
The data gets automatically stored in the smart package and transferred to a database through a smartphone app or reader, allowing tacking of compliance of the respective patient.
The smart packaging solution, which includes printed electronics, also enables interactive communication between the physician and patient to help keep track of medication adherence.
Reminders can also be sent to patients to take the medication and to adjust the dose.
According to Schreiner, the solution comprises a database platform that enables diverse data transfers and analyses.
As part of the collaboration, Schreiner MediPharm offered its expertise in innovative printing technology, while ECCT provided smart sensors for the packaging.
The patient compliance monitoring tool offers benefits, such as reduction of manual documentation, and improved data quality and reduced delinquency rate due to non-compliance.
The pharmaceutical manufacturer will also have increased flexibility in adapting complex therapies and trial processes.
