USP 661 is a United States Pharmacopeia (USP) standard for plastic packaging used in the pharmaceutical industry. It is a specific chapter in the USP standards that provides guidelines and criteria for packaging materials used in drugs and pharmaceuticals. It aims to ensure that polymer materials have no impact on human health.
And tomorrow ?
In 2016, USP expanded Chapter 661 testing standards to further support packaging safety; these new chapters are USP (661.1) and USP (661.2). These chapters will come into force on December 1, 2025, but early adoption is permitted and encouraged.
FILAB can assist you with your analyses in accordance with USP 661-1 and 661-2
Why perform USP 661-1 and 661-2 analyses ?
To allow marketing, all elements in direct contact with the drug or medical device are subject to strict regulations. Administration devices and primary packaging must not interact with or degrade the drug.
The support of an analytical laboratory such as FILAB enables us to provide viable results for assessing the conformity and performance of packaging and administration devices, according to defined specifications and regulatory standards.
What are the standards laid down by USP 661-1 and 661-2 ?
The USP sets standards (including USP 661) to ensure that polymeric materials coming into contact with drugs or medical devices have no impact on human health. This standard applies to HDPE, LDPE, PP, PET, PETG …
The tests described here include:
Identification and characterization tests by IR and DSC
Physicochemical tests (defined according to the type of drug product and the type of plastic).