A US-based hologram developer, Holographyx, has been granted USA and European patents for its Holo-Blister product, for the development of an innovative and cost-effective method to apply holograms to the back of pharmaceutical blister packs.
The aim of Holo-Blister is to reduce counterfeiting in this highly susceptible market. A major advantage is that the holograms can be applied by conventional heat-seal blister packaging equipment, according to the company.
Holo-Blister holograms have been designed so they will only be visible behind each pill/capsule cavity on the back of each blister pack, while continuing to allow the printing of dosage and marketing information on the area surrounding the cavity.
The platform provides consumers with the ability to visually validate the authenticity of their purchases instantly with the use of custom holograms that, prior to the development of Holo-Blister, would be extremely difficult to manufacture and apply, claims the company
The size of the worldwide market for counterfeit pharmaceuticals has been estimated at as much as $200 billion annually. Although anti-counterfeiting measures, such as track and trace, can be used to distinguish legitimate pharmaceutical products from counterfeits, these systems require consumers to go online to validate their pharmaceutical purchases.
Holographyx has been working with the Hazen Paper Company in cooperation with pharmaceutical packaging machinery company Uhlmann Packaging on the development, testing, and introduction of Holo-Blister.
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