Jones Healthcare Group has made a significant investment in its packaging services offering including a new, fully integrated two-lane Uhlmann blister packaging line. The highly automated equipment will enhance the firm’s capacity to manage demand surges and unique blister combinations, as more complex pharmaceutical dosage forms and regimes evolve clinically and commercially.
 
The new line will be installed at the company’s Brampton, Canada facility and is anticipated to be operational early next year.
 
“Our new line offers the highest quality, productivity and flexibility for blister packaging in a Health Canada and FDA-registered facility, including a full serialization and aggregation solution for prescription medicines,” said Marty Quesnel, senior vice president – packaging services at Jones. “We’re proud to work with world-class pharmaceutical equipment manufacturer Uhlmann to expand our offering with state-of-the-art technology.”
 
Fully compliant with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), the automated line includes a two-lane B 1440 blister machine and C 2305 cartoner, as well as end-of-line stretch-wrapping and bundling. The equipment is capable of multi-product blistering for more complex dosing regimens, and multi-product cartoning for combination packs. The line also integrates a wide range of forming and lidding films such as PVC, Alu+Alu and child-resistant formats, with compatibility for multiple products and carton formats.
 
“Now more than ever, our pharmaceutical customers look to us to manage more of their packaging process. This helps them meet unprecedented demand for over-the-counter headache, cold and other respiratory products for our communities, while also pivoting resources to support the pandemic response,” added Ron Harris, president & CEO at Jones. “Our ongoing investment in services and capabilities ensures healthcare companies can continue to count on us as a reliable, resilient supply chain partner.”