Protective outer enclosure for pharmaceutical vial

Abstract

A protective outer container for a pharmaceutical vial includes a shell, a collar, and a cap that fit together to form a secure enclosure. The collar includes an outer wall having a lower region that fits into the mouth of the shell, and an upper region that fits into the cap. A plurality of resiliently deformable fins extends radially inwardly from the upper region of the collar outer wall. Each fin includes a gripping edge. The gripping edges together define an opening for receiving and gripping an upper portion of the vial. According to a further aspect of the container, the collar includes a flange extending outwardly from the collar outer wall, defining its upper and lower regions. Also described is a method for packaging a pharmaceutical vial, in which a shell, a collar, and a cap are used to provide a secure enclosure around the vial.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 733,225, filed Nov. 3, 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to improvements in the field of product packaging, and more specifically to an improved protective outer enclosure for a pharmaceutical vial. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Certain pharmaceuticals, such as drugs used in chemotherapy, are manufactured in concentrated form, and are then sealed into individual vials for distribution to healthcare facilities. When a chemotherapy drug is used to treat a patient, a health worker must remove the concentrated drug from a vial and prepare a dilution for intravenous administration. In a typical hospital, chemotherapy drugs are handled by a relatively small number of people on the hospital's staff, who have received specific training in this area. Over the cou...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, for a number of reasons, even when precautions are taken, a health worker may nonetheless be exposed to chemotherapy drugs.

For example, because these drugs are typically packaged in glass vials, there is a possibility that a vial may crack or be otherwise damaged during the manufacturing process or in transit.

However, these containers suffer from a number of drawbacks.

First, just as trace amounts of a chemotherapy drug may be found on the outer surface of a vial, trace amounts of the drug may also migrate onto the outer surface of the protective container.

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