Photo supplied by Web Industries
An operator at Web Industries in Massachusetts loads cassette magazines of test devices onto a Campbell Revolution Flow Wrapper. Using a form-fill-seal approach, the equipment packs each test kit, together with a desiccant pack, in a metallized pouch. With help from a nimble partner, medical device giant BD took its rapid COVID-19 test kit from concept to large-scale production in a matter of months.
For many in medical packaging, 2020 was a year of pandemic pivots that forced changes to packaging lines and tested the agility of medical device makers, packagers, and equipment vendors alike.
A successful case from the contract packaging space features BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.) and its Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is an antigen test kit for COVID-19. BD announced in July 2020 that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the test kit.
High-performance cutting system increases Omega Systèmes’ productivity by a factor of five for the supply of precision slit tape delivered in spooled form. Photo Credit: Omega Systèmes
Omega Systèmes, a Web Industries company (Marlborough, Mass., U.S. and Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu, France), reported on March 10 that it has been awarded a grant by the France Relance [Recovery] plan a roadmap to mobilize and recover the country economically, socially and ecologically for the design and development of aeronautic thermoset and thermoplastic slitting solutions. Funds from the grant will reportedly modernize and automate Omega Systèmes’ equipment at its Nantes plant, which will supply next-generation aircraft manufacturers and contribute to the industry s economic rebound from the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.