The problem of children accessing medication at home is growing and the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) claims the most common form of poisoning1 in the UK is from medication, with children under five being most at risk. While parents have a role to play in the home by keeping medicine out of sight and reach, the pharma industry has a responsibility to invest in packaging products that act as the first line of defence. Here, Rich Quelch explores the pressures on the pharma industry to meet ethical standards and assesses how the latest innovations in child-resistance packaging are helping to shape a safer future.
An ethical requirement
For many businesses, meeting baseline safety standards is key, as it helps get their products on store shelves or in pharmacies as quickly as possible. However, for most industries the risks that come with underdeveloped products are not as severe as for those in pharma. For companies bringing new drugs to market, leniency towards safety standards, for both primary and secondary packaging, could have serious, if not fatal, repercussions.
European packaging manufacturers are currently required to meet several standards for child safety, including regulations on reclosable and non-reclosable packaging for medicines.2 Even for those already meeting minimum regulation standards, it begs the question of why manufacturers are not pushing themselves to meet a higher standard of social responsibility to ensure products do not pose a risk to the population, especially children. For those currently meeting child-resistant guidelines, there is no reason why they cannot go above and beyond to lead the way in safety standards.
Expectations are also increasing in terms of child protection; acceptable extraction levels for solid dose medication are being challenged, and rightly so. If some are achieving results of F4 to F1, then why should F8 be considered acceptable? Brands have much to gain – ethically and commercially – by blazing the trail for child-resistant packaging. For those able to rise to the challenge, it represents an opportunity to beat the competition and set the new standard in child-resistant packaging.
Are you looking to explore how lipid formulations in softgels can enhance drug absorption and bioavailability. Register for our upcoming webinar to find out!
3 September 2025 | 3:00 PM BST | FREE Webinar
This webinar will delve into the different types of lipid formulations, such as solutions, suspensions, emulsions, and self-(micro)emulsifying systems. Applications span diverse therapeutic areas including HIV therapy, oncology, immunosuppressants, and emerging treatments like medicinal cannabis (eg, CBD).
What You’ll Learn:
Lipid formulation development and screening tools for optimisation
Key steps in scale-up and industrialisation to ensure consistency and efficiency
Impact of lipid-based softgels on drug delivery and patient outcomes.
Falsified medicine is one of the biggest challenges facing today’s global pharmaceutical industry, with the false medicines market estimated to be worth approximately $200 billion.3 Unregulated products are flooding the pharma market and posing serious health risks to patients globally.
European packaging manufacturers are currently required to meet several standards for child-safety, including regulations on reclosable and non-reclosable packaging for medicines”
Criminal manufacturers of fraudulent medicines have no responsibility to ensure their products adhere to safety regulations, including packaging. This means consumers are left with no protection in terms of child resistance.
The fight against false medical products escalated last year as the EU rolled out its Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) in February. The legislation means all prescription medicines will need to include two safety features on its packaging: an anti-tampering device and a unique identifier in the form of a 2D barcode.
Anti-tampering features mean any products that may be compromised will not be sent to pharmacies or consumers, limiting unsafe or damaged packaging in the home. Similarly, tracking products with barcode technologies means batches of products are ‘checked out’ by the manufacturer and then ‘scanned in’ at the point of dispensing (eg, pharmacy), ensuring all product journeys are authenticated and products (and therefore, packaging) are legitimised.
However, many medical products are not compliant to the new EU regulations and it will take a while before we can assess the effect of the legislation. However, as regulation continues to support efforts to eradicate falsified and counterfeit medicine, patient and child safety will increase.
Design innovation
Every year, child-resistant primary and secondary packaging design is becoming smarter, with more innovations hitting the mass market. Recent popular advancements in packaging design include ziplock bags. This secondary packaging style provides a lightweight and compact means of securing medicine and has experienced a spike in demand with the recent rise of cannabidiol (CBD) products. Ziplock packaging is a single-entry design that requires mature dexterity to slide a zipper open to access the contents. The bags can easily be opened and re-secured by adults but provide a barrier to entry for children. Many designs even include a flap that covers the zipper when the bag is closed, disguising the entry point as an added layer of security.
Innovative blister packaging works on the same premise of requiring mature motor functions. While foil blister tabs are perforated and do not require much strength to pierce, they still demand dexterity to secure the package and break the blister seal to retrieve the medicine. It means modern blister packaging is suitable for the elderly or frail but keeps medicine out of the hands of small children.
The original and standard-setting child-resistant design has always been the twist-off bottle cap, which demands a pinch-and-twist movement to access the medicine and therefore exceeds child motor capabilities. Twist-off caps continue to be the market leader but as manufacturers compete to provide the most effective and sustainable solution, we are seeing innovations in this design. Modified designs include caps that integrate measuring beakers and use sustainable materials.
Packaging manufacturers also have a duty to label child-resistant packaging4 clearly for consumers. This includes using complete terms like ‘child-resistant packaging’ rather than abbreviations and including the information in a specified place – the ‘how supplied/storage and handling section’ of the label. Separate adhesive labels are seen as best practice compared with on-packaging designs.
A forward glance
The importance of child-resistant packaging and the demand for safe products is not a new phenomenon. The child-resistant packaging market continues to evolve as competing brands look to provide the safest and most efficient solution. One major driver of this recent market growth is the expanding offering of cannabis-based products. With the introduction of oils, creams and other CBD products on shelves, renewed efforts are being made to ensure the safety of children in the home. As mentioned earlier, ziplock bags and pouches ensure a safe secondary packaging solution, and focus is heavily weighted on providing that first barrier of defence to the medicine.
Packaging manufacturers also have a duty to label child-resistant packaging clearly for consumers”
Dark colours, like amber glass, are a popular choice for oil products, acting as a suitable platform for labelling products. Oil products are typically dispensed via a pipette-style ‘dropper’ and manufacturers are innovating the dropper design to integrate the two-motion pinch-and-twist cap mechanism in a way that prevents child access without compromising the efficiency of the system. Child-resistant vials pose fewer challenges to manufacturers and the market is opting for opaque, plastic designs with standard pinch-and-twist caps to provide a child-resistant barrier.
Looking forward, the demand for child-resistant packaging is expected to grow,5 with focus shifting towards non-reclosable designs. Non-reclosable products provide the peace of mind of offering a higher level of protection to the medicine with a longer shelf life.
In the future, those companies that consider child safety regulations as simply a minimum bar to exceed will be the ones that thrive. Those who adopt child safety as a genuine part of their ethos and work to raise the bar will reap the benefits of today’s conscious consumers, who continue to demonstrate value in ethical responsibility in their purchasing habits.
About the author
Rich Quelch has worked with experts in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector for almost 10 years. As part of his current role with Origin, Rich aims to raise awareness amongst the pharma community about key issues facing the sector, including increasing sustainability across the supply chain, the latest tamper-proof technologies and innovations in child-resistant primary packaging.
This website uses cookies to enable, optimise and analyse site operations, as well as to provide personalised content and allow you to connect to social media. By clicking "I agree" you consent to the use of cookies for non-essential functions and the related processing of personal data. You can adjust your cookie and associated data processing preferences at any time via our "Cookie Settings". Please view our Cookie Policy to learn more about the use of cookies on our website.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as ”Necessary” are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. For our other types of cookies “Advertising & Targeting”, “Analytics” and “Performance”, these help us analyse and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these different types of cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. You can adjust the available sliders to ‘Enabled’ or ‘Disabled’, then click ‘Save and Accept’. View our Cookie Policy page.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Cookie
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertising-targeting
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertising & Targeting".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Performance".
PHPSESSID
This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
zmember_logged
This session cookie is served by our membership/subscription system and controls whether you are able to see content which is only available to logged in users.
Performance cookies are includes cookies that deliver enhanced functionalities of the website, such as caching. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Cookie
Description
cf_ob_info
This cookie is set by Cloudflare content delivery network and, in conjunction with the cookie 'cf_use_ob', is used to determine whether it should continue serving “Always Online” until the cookie expires.
cf_use_ob
This cookie is set by Cloudflare content delivery network and is used to determine whether it should continue serving “Always Online” until the cookie expires.
free_subscription_only
This session cookie is served by our membership/subscription system and controls which types of content you are able to access.
ls_smartpush
This cookie is set by Litespeed Server and allows the server to store settings to help improve performance of the site.
one_signal_sdk_db
This cookie is set by OneSignal push notifications and is used for storing user preferences in connection with their notification permission status.
YSC
This cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
Analytics cookies collect information about your use of the content, and in combination with previously collected information, are used to measure, understand, and report on your usage of this website.
Cookie
Description
bcookie
This cookie is set by LinkedIn. The purpose of the cookie is to enable LinkedIn functionalities on the page.
GPS
This cookie is set by YouTube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
lang
This cookie is set by LinkedIn and is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website.
lidc
This cookie is set by LinkedIn and used for routing.
lissc
This cookie is set by LinkedIn share Buttons and ad tags.
vuid
We embed videos from our official Vimeo channel. When you press play, Vimeo will drop third party cookies to enable the video to play and to see how long a viewer has watched the video. This cookie does not track individuals.
wow.anonymousId
This cookie is set by Spotler and tracks an anonymous visitor ID.
wow.schedule
This cookie is set by Spotler and enables it to track the Load Balance Session Queue.
wow.session
This cookie is set by Spotler to track the Internet Information Services (IIS) session state.
wow.utmvalues
This cookie is set by Spotler and stores the UTM values for the session. UTM values are specific text strings that are appended to URLs that allow Communigator to track the URLs and the UTM values when they get clicked on.
_ga
This cookie is set by Google Analytics and is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. It stores information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat
This cookies is set by Google Universal Analytics to throttle the request rate to limit the collection of data on high traffic sites.
_gid
This cookie is set by Google Analytics and is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visited in an anonymous form.
Advertising and targeting cookies help us provide our visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns.
Cookie
Description
advanced_ads_browser_width
This cookie is set by Advanced Ads and measures the browser width.
advanced_ads_page_impressions
This cookie is set by Advanced Ads and measures the number of previous page impressions.
advanced_ads_pro_server_info
This cookie is set by Advanced Ads and sets geo-location, user role and user capabilities. It is used by cache busting in Advanced Ads Pro when the appropriate visitor conditions are used.
advanced_ads_pro_visitor_referrer
This cookie is set by Advanced Ads and sets the referrer URL.
bscookie
This cookie is a browser ID cookie set by LinkedIn share Buttons and ad tags.
IDE
This cookie is set by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
li_sugr
This cookie is set by LinkedIn and is used for tracking.
UserMatchHistory
This cookie is set by Linkedin and is used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
This cookie is set by YouTube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.