Purpose  

To extend the shelf life and efficacy of pharmaceutical,  nutraceutical and diagnostic products by protecting  against oxygen degradation and oxidative reactions in low  relative humidity package environments.

What is it?

PharmaKeep®  is an innovative line of polymer-based oxygen scavenging canisters and packets, developed and distributed jointly by Süd-Chemie Performance Packaging, a business unit of Süd-Chemie Group, and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. (MGC).

Why use it?  

Oxidative degradation – besides moisture – is one of  the major pathways for degradation of pharmaceuticals  and diagnostics during production, isolation processes  and storage.  Oxidation of proteins, enzymes and active  pharmaceutical substances can present significant stability  problems affecting efficacy, accuracy and shelf life.   When evaluating drug properties during formulation  of pharmaceuticals, the need to address suboptimal  physiochemical properties, such as susceptibility to  oxidation, can extend time lines and development costs.   By addressing oxidative stability with packaging instead of  in the drug formulation, time-to-market can be shortened.   Oxygen also causes reactions in many reagents and  substrates used in in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) products.  By  scavenging oxygen, PharmaKeep oxygen absorbers help  ensure that diagnostic products remain effective and  accurate.

Compared to Metal-Based Systems

Metal based oxygen scavenging systems, such as the ironoxide packets often used in food applications, require the  presence of humidity in order function and often release  moisture back into the package environment.  Due to the  need for water, metal based oxygen scavengers are not  suitable for dry applications.  PharmaKeep absorbs oxygen  at low relative humidity levels.   Unlike some oxygen scavengers, PharmaKeep does not  contain bromide.

Available Configurations

Süd-Chemie offers various configurations of PharmaKeep canisters and packets to accomodate different packaging needs.  Canisters are rigid and cylindrical in design and are ideal for automatic, high-speed insertion into pharmaceutical and nutraceutical packaging, typically feeding 300 to 600 canisters per minute.  PharmaKeep packets have the same absorbing function as PharmaKeep canisters.  Canisters and packets are available in two-in-one moisture and oxygen absorbing configurations (CD and KD).   The KH-500 packet is designed for bulk packaging.