Innovating vitamin D delivery: Neopac and Streuli Pharma collaborate on Polyfoil dropper

18 Jun 2019 --- Neopac and Streuli Pharma (Streuli) are simplifying vitamin D supplementation for children with the launch of a dropper tube, which enables a safer and more precise administration of doses. Streuli manufactures the oil based supplement, D3 piccolo, while Neopac’s Polyfoil dropper tube allows for a simple dispensing of the oil on a drop-by-drop basis. Traditionally, vitamin D is packaged in glass vials with pipettes, but the Polyfoil 19mm dropper tubes are glass-free, allowing the metered dropper to be directly inserted into the mouth, as well as being more safely transportable.

Made from Neopac’s Polyfoil material, the tube consists of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) material. “Composite materials have the advantage of providing incomparable protection of the product content with relatively little use of materials. Through their protective properties, they increase the life of expensive pharmaceutical and cosmetic products,” Christopher Kipf, Sales Manager Pharma at Hoffmann Neopac, tells PackagingInsights.

Polyfoil’s strong barrier properties help to prevent harmful contamination with moisture and oxygen. This means that there is a longer shelf-life compared to products stored in just PE or PP packaging, notes the company.

“We have been working with Neopac for two years on this product, and our collaboration has been extremely productive,” says Rebekka Richartz, Marketing Leader, Human at Streuli Pharma AG. “By jointly developing the vitamin D dropper tube, we have simplified the administration process for parents, making dosages safer and more precise.”Polyfoil’s strong barrier properties help to prevent harmful contamination with moisture and oxygen.

Each drop contains 200 international units (I.E.) of vitamin D, which is useful in ensuring each child takes an appropriate amount. Below the age of three, some children need 400-600 I.E. doses, in order to ensure good bone health. It is especially vital that doses are accurate, in light of the recent reduction of children’s tolerable upper intake level of vitamin D. Light pressure applied to the tube dispenses individual droplets.

The cap was reconfigured during the development process to mitigate against overtightening the drop thread. This was exacerbated by the original cap’s fine nozzle and the length of the tube. Additionally, an insert specifically designed for liquids, serums and oily content is on the dropper mechanism. This enables the mechanism to be adjusted to the proper bulk texture for an ideally sized drop, further ensuring accurate dosing.

“The high quality and innovative packaging solutions Neopac provides and the willingness to include our ideas into the product development convinced us to have chosen the right partner for this project,” Kipf continues. 

“The dropper tube in conjunction with Polyfoil technology created an innovative final product that can revolutionize the manner in which vitamin D is administered to young children,” says Martina Christiansen, Head of Sales and Marketing Pharma of Hoffmann Neopac.

Other creative solutions based around droppers have been seen recently, notably with the dual chambered ACU- Drop II. This award winning design prevents premature reactions by keeping different fractions separated. When the user wishes to, they can push a button to combine the fractions, after which the solution is ready to be deposited either via a built-in dropper or a syringe. 

By Katherine Durrell