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A machine that pop pills

07/04/2003

"The Fenn 60 is highly inventive and is offering a solution to a significant problem. With the MDS market in the UK growing rapidly the product has the potential of harnessing a large, global market."

The Surrey-based company, Wright Fenn Ltd, is a partnership between David Fenn, an inventor, and David Wright, an engineer and businessman.

The machine has been developed to satisfy the needs of pharmacies that are required to deblister medication to meet the increasing demands for Monitored Dosage System (MDS) prescriptions. Health and safety problems, including potential repetitive strain injuries (RSI), and the costs associated with manually removing medicines from packs, are now considered sufficiently serious to warrant investment in automated deblistering.

The pharmaceutical industry will also be interested in this new product. In tests, a leading manufacturer has found the Fenn 60 machine useful in solving problems that arise when drugs need to re-packed, recycled or disposed of for any reason. Endorsement of the product has also come from a leading pharmaceutical consultant who has said: "The Fenn 60 is the answer to a long established problem."

The compact machine uses an adhesive tape to strip the foil cover from each pill strip, allowing the tablet to drop out into a collection tray and the empty pack is ejected from the machine via an exit chute.

Mark White, NESTA Invention and Innovation Director, said: "This award is living proof that NESTA is uncovering innovative ideas and offering them the chance to thrive. The Fenn 60 is highly inventive and is offering a solution to a significant problem. With the MDS market in the UK growing rapidly the product has the potential of harnessing a large, global market."