The patent that makes drugs packaging safe is from Viggiù

One day, if you can open your drug packaging and be sure that no one has done so beforehand, you should thank the Bressan family, who own IGB S.r.l., a small company in Viggiù that is specialised in the design and manufacture of packaging, particularly for drugs.

Founded in 1968 by the head of the family, Dino, the company’s philosophy has always been one of innovation and quality, principles that the second generation, represented by Alessio, Michel and Elisabetta, have continued to follow. “We invest 5% of our turnover (about €6 million, ed.) on research and development,” explained Alessio Bressan (see photo above). “We don’t just print the files that clients send us; we also suggest our own solutions.”

IGB is not just a subcontractor for pharmaceutical companies, but, thanks to its staff of designers and engineers, is a genuine production partner for its clients. The new patent, created by Michel Bressan, a management engineer who graduated at LIUC in Castellanza, who is considered the creative spirit in the family, is destined to revolutionise the drug packaging market, as he explains. “First of all, our clients won’t have to change their packaging machines; the cardboard used for the boxes is still the same, and if we consider the costs, it’s even more interesting, because it’s half as expensive as a sticker label, but guarantees almost complete safety of the integrity of drug box, and, therefore, that the contents haven’t been tampered with.”

Like all the brilliant inventions, the concept is very simple. A cardboard strip is inserted into the box, which acts like a hook; when the box is tampered with, it becomes hooked and is sheared off, and cannot be put back together or returned to its original position.

“The inspiration came to me when I was holding a liquorice packet. Looking at the packet I thought about the opening and closing mechanism on the top. I rushed to the design department and said to our employee Alberto, ‘I’ve got an idea.’”

Making the prototype was not immediate. The IGB technicians involved a number of clients, and after some tests, variations and adjustments, the “safe box” debuted at the Paris Trade Fair, where a number of pharmaceutical companies, especially American and Polish ones, showed a great deal of interest in buying them. Ministry officials have not yet expressed any opinion about the patent, which has been deposited and has already gone into production, although the company has been in contact with AIFA (the Italian Medicine Agency).

The Viggiù-based company, which began as a classic printing works, made product and process innovation its main competitive weapons. These are aspects that the owners have always focused on, with an eye to environmental and social sustainability, starting with aspects that come before production, such as replanting forests, farming criteria and the people involved in the manufacturing. “My father always invested in the company, and taught us that, if we want to guarantee high standards and certified quality on products and safety, which our foreign clients, in particular, demand, this is the only way to go,” concluded Alessio Bressan.