ABSTRACT
Biotechnology is an exciting area of pharmaceutical research and development.
It comprises drugs, proteins, and vaccines. The promise that it holds has captured
the imagination and interest of the press and general public. The potential benefit
from new products developed by this technology is staggering. It offers the
possibility for cures of genetic conditions and for repair and healing of severely
damaged cells that cannot repair themselves. It is the brave new world of
multidisciplinary science, medicine, and from a packaging perspective, a new
range of products to protect. As the technology and the products it manufactures
move to commercialization, packaging must develop new methods, materials,
and delivery systems. The pharmaceutical industry considers these technologies
and the products they manufacture to provide an opportunity to dramatically
improve health care on a broad spectrum of problems little understood as few as
10 years ago.