Leading Pharma Packaging Firm Orders NFC OpenSense™ Labels for Packaging Integration with Global Pharmaceutical Products
Thin Film Electronics ASA (“Thinfilm”) (OSE: THIN.OL) (OTCQX: TFECY), a global leader in printed electronics and smart systems, today announced a commercial partnership with Jones Packaging Inc. (“Jones”), a world-class provider of premier packaging solutions for healthcare and consumer brands. The two companies are collaborating to integrate Thinfilm’s NFC OpenSense™ technology into paperboard pharma packaging and establish key manufacturing processes for production on Jones’ high speed lines. Jones and Thinfilm are engaging leading global pharmaceutical companies to integrate the smart technology into product packaging and deliver the solution to market.
Jones and Thinfilm are initially focusing on integrating the NFC OpenSense technology into packaging solutions, such as paperboard cartons that house Rx and OTC medications. As part of this initiative, Jones has placed a six-figure unit order for NFC OpenSense tags.
NFC OpenSense tags are thin, flexible labels that can detect both a product’s “factory sealed” and “opened” states and wirelessly communicate contextual content with the tap of an NFC-enabled smartphone. The tags contain unique identifiers that make it possible for pharmaceutical companies to authenticate products and track them to the individual-item level using powerful software and analytics tools. In addition, the tags remain active even after a product’s factory seal has been broken, empowering brands and medical staff to extend the dialogue with consumers and patients.
“Jones’ strategy of developing printed electronics solutions for the healthcare market led us to collaborate with industry leader Thinfilm,” states Chris Jones Harris, Principal, Strategic Initiatives and Alliances with Jones. “Thinfilm’s unique printed NFC solution addresses multiple needs within the pharmaceutical channel, particularly around product integrity and patient safety, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership in this area.”
Thinfilm’s “Tag Talks First” protocol is a key feature of the NFC OpenSense tag and enables a read-speed that is up to 20 times faster than conventional NFC solutions. This makes it an ideal technology for use within the high-speed, high-volume production lines found in Jones’ manufacturing facilities. The work conducted by Jones and Thinfilm will also include the integration of ferrite shield labels with the NFC OpenSense tags. This will enable the NFC technology to function on metalized packaging, such as blisters commonly used for cold/flu medication.
“Jones has been in business for well over a century and is a trusted partner to some of the largest and most successful companies in the world,” said Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm. “We are very excited to be partnering with a true innovator in the packaging industry and look forward to helping them deliver this leading-edge NFC solution to the pharmaceutical space.”
The Jones/Thinfilm smart packaging collaboration will be funded, in part, by grants from both the Swedish and Canadian governments.
www.thinfilm.no
