The product will combine Stora’s Pharma DDSi smart packaging with Medixine’s mobile and server software to offer patients a way of tracking their medication.
Smart packaging has risen to prominence as a way to monitor patient compliance, which is beneficial to the person receiving treatment, the physician and pharmaceutical companies monitoring drug efficacy.
This can be applicable to a wide range of therapeutics but Medixine has focused on its applications in migraine treatments. Dr Tapio Jokinen, Medixine’s managing director, said: “Keeping a migraine diary is easy with the help of the package by simply answering questions about the symptoms.
“The package automatically records the amounts of drugs taken and the hours at which they were taken. All this information can easily be made available to a doctor in the form of a clear report.”
Stora’s Pharma DDSi packaging reminds patients when to take their medication and tracks the date and time that each tablet is removed. A record of this data is stored on a microchip embedded in the package, which can be read using a mobile phone.
Once read by the phone the data can be sent to a server that is accessible by those responsible for the patients care or companies monitoring efficacy. Medixine software underpins the data collection, transmission and management.
Phenomenal growth is predicted in the smart packaging market, with a 2006 NanoMarkets’ report claiming it would grow to $14.1bn by 2014.