Pharmaceutical

When the pharmaceutical industry is mentioned, the first packaging that is pictured is probably a packer. However, there are many other types of packaging used in the pharmaceutical industry, and McKernan has thousands of listings with millions of packaging components in the warehouse ready to ship.


McKernan carries an extensive line of packers, bottles and jars made of glass, PET and HDPE that are ideal for pills, vitamins, supplements, medicinal herbs, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and many other pharmaceutical applications. Continuous thread caps or dispensing caps are often found on these containers, but if a layer of safety is needed, there are child resistant caps, or CRCs, and tamper evident packaging. A CRC uses mechanisms that creates difficulty for children to open a container. Some of these styles include squeeze tab, squeeze and turn caps, and push and turn caps. Often, you will see either written or pictorial instructions on top of the cap. Tamper evident features can be a ring on the neck, a safety button, pull tab, or other device showing a product has been opened or tampered with.

Vials tend to be smaller containers made of either plastic or glass. Vials are often used in the pharmaceutical industry to hold small amounts of serums, oils, or medications. Plugs are often used with vials, but they can also be used on many other styles of bottles. Plugs include orifice reducers, dropper tip reducers, and nasal applicators.

Because collapsible tubes dispense easily and contamination is kept at a minimum, the pharmaceutical industry uses this type of packaging for many topical ointments including eye gels, antibiotic creams, topical pain relief, skin ointments, petroleum jelly, and anti-itch creams.

Some droppers used in the pharmaceutical industry include a tamper evident and/or child resistant feature which is why many topical applications like oils, iodine and liquid bandage are frequently seen in glass jars with droppers. However, liquid bandage can also be found in an aerosols along with bug sprays, antifungal sprays, antiseptic sprays and cooling sprays.

Fine mist sprayers, treatment pumps, and lotion pumps are used to dispense products such as sore throat sprays, calamine lotions, aloe, and antiseptic sprays which are often packaged in a plastic bottle.

Medical marijuana is one of the fastest growing industries in the pharmaceutical realm and the packaging is growing right along with it. In addition to packers storing edibles or capsules, glass bottles with tamper evident droppers are also commonly used to hold CBD oil or tincture.

If you searched our website and were unable to find packaging for your pharmaceutical products, please call us at 1 (800) 787-7587 and we can recommend a solution. We can customize anything in our wholesale line and even assist in locating unique items. From color to design, we are here to help you achieve the perfect package!