LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Colbert Packaging Corporation, a leading manufacturer of folding cartons, rigid setup boxes and paperboard specialty products, has been awarded a U.S. patent (US 9,452,877 B2) for its MedLock EZ™ family of patient compliance packages. It is the tenth patent issued for Colbert’s paperboard specialty products and the first awarded for MedLock EZ. 

MedLock EZ is a secure and sustainable unit dose alternative to amber pharmacy vials. Subjected to Consumer Product Safety Commission testing protocols, MedLock EZ has tested to F=1, which is a testament to the effectiveness of its child-resistant, senior-friendly design attributes. MedLock EZ is available in multiple footprints to accommodate a wide range of medications.

The patented design consists of a fully brandable and recyclable outer paperboard shell housing a pill blister card locked into place with an integrated locking mechanism. The lock disengages by squeezing and holding touch-points at one end of the paperboard shell while sliding the blister card out through the other end. Once the blister card is exposed, medication can be pressed through one of the individual blisters. Sliding the blister card back into the outer shell reengages the lock.

In addition to the branding and sustainability advantages of a paperboard-based design, MedLock EZ’s large printable area also offers ample opportunity to engage patients in their drug treatment regimen. With MedLock EZ, pharmaceutical companies can promote adherence by communicating clear and consistent dosing instructions, and by making dosages easy to dispense and track. 

“This new patent, our tenth, demonstrates our unrelenting commitment to new product development and validates our team’s inventiveness,” said Jim Hamilton, president of Colbert Packaging. “By listening to the needs of our customers and continually investing resources into the development of innovative solutions, we’ve built a diverse portfolio of game-changing packaging products.”

MedLock EZ is one of nearly a dozen paperboard specialty products created by Colbert Packaging, and the latest in Colbert’s growing line of unit dose packaging solutions for patient compliance.