Despite rumblings of a weakening economy, firms in the health care and medical manufacturing industries are relatively sheltered, as I recently quoted to Minnesota based Upsize Magazine.

The reason for this is simple. The only constant we as Americans experience in our lives is that we age. Going hand in hand with this sometimes stark reality is that we will all require increasingly more health care despite nearly all other external factors.

While health care may never be a subject we discuss comfortably, firms like DDL help to ensure we experience it more comfortably.

UpsizeMag.com
Article Summary
Despite many Minnesota business owners hang-ups over the larger economy, many respondents to an Upsize survey are moving ahead with ambitious growth plans in 2008.

John Hart, CEO of Eden Prairie-based DDL Inc., provides testing services to the medical device industry. He and his staff of 50 employees test not only the products, but also the sterile packaging they’re shipped in. His clients are located across the country.

Even if the economy takes a nose dive, health care and medical manufacturing are industries that are relatively sheltered, says Hart.

Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News

Article Summary
Outsourcing to meet the standards set in ISO 11607:2006 has valid benefits, according to contract packaging firms. Compliance provisions require packagers to have the most current standards at hand and to incorporate them into their process. When such monitoring and execution takes valuable resources away from a company’s primary functions, outsourcing might effectively help to meet compliance needs.

Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News

Article Summary

The merger of TCP Reliable Inc. (Edison, NJ) and DDL (Eden Prairie, MN) creates a single provider for a broad spectrum of products and services for package development and testing. The merger gives customers the opportunity to consolidate package development and testing with one vendor. The companies will work together on specialized packaging for complex medical devices such as combination device and drug products, officials say.

DDL, the leading package testing services firm specializing in medical device testing, and TCP Reliable, a thermal packaging solutions manufacturer, have announced a merger, making the combined company the leading packaging engineering provider specializing in the medical device and biopharmaceutical industries.

This merger represents a natural expansion into new areas of the packaging lifecycle that began this year with DDL’s launch of custom package development and prototyping services.

Be advised that DDL will continue to operate its testing and manufacturing separately, and maintain its current locations, staff, and superior level of service as a wholly owned subsidiary of TCP Reliable.

This week, I will be out at MD&M Minneapolis, both meeting with you at DDL’s booth, and presenting later this morning.

My presentation, “The Compliance Sweet Spot” Employing the TIR 22 for Effective ISO 1160 Compliance” will highlight the key activities that provide the necessary competitive advantage for sterile medical device packagers as they engage in the competitive race to market.

Geared towards those relatively unfamiliar with the details of compliance to ISO 11607, or how best to follow its “how to” guide the TIR 22, my presentation will serve as an introduction to both, and frame them within a “12 Steps to Market” for easy compliance.

Merger will allow TCP and DDL customers to achieve a new, consolidated level of packaging success

Edison, NJ, October 3, 2007– TCP Reliable, a thermal packaging solutions manufacturer and DDL, the leading package testing services firm have announced a merger, making the combined company the leading packaging engineering group specializing in the medical device and biopharmaceutical industries. DDL and TCP will continue to operate their testing and manufacturing separately with DDL as a wholly owned subsidiary of TCP Reliable.

DDL was founded with the understanding that time to market would be critical to the competitive advantage of our clients. This mantra has helped shape the development of our world class package testing, and launch of our custom package development, services. In combination, these services help ensure you “Beat The Clock” in getting your product to market.

Inspired by this success, DDL will be launching our “Beat The Clock” game live this week at our booth at BIOMedevice in San Jose and continuing later this month at MD&M in Minneapolis.

Medical device companies must work through a number of challenges facing their corporate packaging engineers. In my article, “Six Benefits of Outsourcing Your Packaging Engineering Activities - A Case for Virtual Package Engineering for the Medical Device Industries“, I discuss the benefit of outsourcing and other important issues challenging today’s packaging professional.

These six benefits can significantly reduce the time needed to get a product to market. In addition, outsourcing your package engineering can allow for more effective problem solving and innovative design. By outsourcing, your company focuses on what it does best, while getting the crucial packaging completed through the use of a virtual package engineering support team.

Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News

Article Summary

Testing methodologies for innovative equipment have prom­­ised ease of use and more-precise results for esta­blishing integrity and seal-strength values of medical device and drug packaging. Some newer solutions accomplish several testing methods in one machine. In supporting R&D applications and package validation, models are offered with computer-supported analysis and results documentation.