IDTAB technology that makes possible for the first time in the world to print directly onto OD tablets wins award

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. received the 2013 Good Design Award on October 30th, 2013 for the antiplatelet drug "Pletaal^® OD Tablets 50 mg/100 mg" (nonproprietary name: cilostazol). Otsuka received the Good Design Award 2013 for making it possible to print directly onto OD tablets using this IDTAB technology. Pletaal Tablets were also included in the Good Design Best 100 list.

The idea to find a way to print the name and dosage of the medication onto an orodispersable (OD) tablet (or orally disintegrating tablet) came to Yoshio Hara when he nearly gave his son, the wrong amount of medication for his asthma. Mr. Hara said most tablets are white and round and very generic looking, and can be mistaken easily. That was his Ah Ha! Moment and realized that there are many people who may have nearly made or actually made the mistake of taking the wrong dosage, or given the wrong dosage of drugs to those they are caring for.

So the journey to creating what is now known as IDTAB technology began. Mr. Hara and his team first started enquiring tablet printing makers at the end of 2009. Being able to print the product name directly onto conventional OD tablets, which are soft and dissolve easily, is complicated and has up until now been impossible, but the team saw the need and pushed forward.

97.4% of pharmacists nationwide admit having given the wrong dosage to their patients

Before the technology was perfected and made available to the market, one person was reported to have died from taking the wrong dosage in the spring of 2010. Nikkei Drug Information released a study in June 2011 that showed 97.4% of pharmacists nationwide admit having given the wrong dosage to their patients. They all agreed that clearly printed tablets will be extremely helpful when dispersing drugs. All the more making the team more determined to see this technology succeed.

The advantage of being able to print the product name directly on the tablet is that it allows both medical professionals and patients themselves to easily identify what drug each individual tablet contains by product name, preventing prescribing and dosing errors. Because antiplatelet drugs in particular are high-risk drugs that inhibit clotting, their use needs to be discontinued before surgery, and having the product name printed on the tablets themselves makes it much easier for medical professionals and patients to identify the drug.

It is our dream to see this technology spread around the world to ensure safety when distributing medications to patients or loved ones; or when patients are taking the medicines themselves.