Today’s complex drug formulations and sensitive reagents used in diagnostic devices can require careful management of oxygen, which may be a key threat to the product’s stability and efficacy. To help manufacturers prevent the effects of oxidative degradation, Multisorb Technologies, a global leader in active packaging innovations, has developed the StabilOx® family of specialty oxygen absorbers.  

StabilOx significantly reduces oxygen levels within the packaged environment to decrease the rate of oxidative degradation, while maintaining the relative humidity at a specified level. This helps address moisture-mediated chemical degradation of drug formulations as well as diagnostic device malfunction. Available in a variety of delivery formats, including packets, labels, canisters and solid forms, these high-performance products offer unparalleled flexibility to a wide range of healthcare applications and virtually any packaging operation.

The versatility of the StabilOx portfolio is especially critical for diagnostic devices as it enables the incorporation of oxygen absorbing technology into a variety of device formats. For instance, StabilOx solid forms can be integrated into injection molded devices to help maintain substrate efficacy and quality.

“The reliability of diagnostic devices is crucial to making accurate patient diagnosis and recommendations for medical care,” says Robert Sabdo, business development leader, Multisorb Technologies. “Our StabilOx portfolio of technologies ensures the integrity of test results by maintaining device performance throughout its shelf life,” he adds.

Additionally, StabilOx can provide protection from the effects of oxygen to a multitude of pharmaceutical applications, preserving formulation stability and efficacy throughout drug product shelf life. Using an automated dispensing line, the durable StabilOx packets can simply be dropped into the solid-dose pharmaceutical glass or HDPE bottles, or foil-laminate pouch packaging presentations used for drug device combination products. The StabilOx canisters provide oxygen scavenging capabilities to manufacturers whose production lines are configured for traditional canister formats.

StabilOx solid forms are well suited for channeled thermoform and cold blisters packs, while the label format is an effective, “invisible” solution for active and passive transdermal applications.

“Formulation chemists and drug manufacturers are under pressure to keep new, complicated drug formulations stable and potent over the drug product’s shelf life,” says Adrian Possumato, global manager, pharmaceutical market. “StabilOx helps achieve this by providing a cost-effective, simple solution that works within the packaging instead of the drug product, eliminating the risk of product degradation and ensuring its efficacy.”

Multisorb’s StabiOx family of technologies can adapted to suit any high-speed dispensing system, and all formats are supported by a Type III Drug Master File.