West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

Daikyo Seiko, Ltd.

The West Company

John Paproski

Robert Nase

Hubert Jansen

Paul H Norton

Hiroshi Togashi

Edward F Vander Bush

Charles Papciak

Bernard Lahendro

Kathleen A Parker

James Gerhart

Hiroshi Togashiare

A vacuum packaging system for transporting a plurality of medical containers including a tray that supports the medical containers and an air impervious flexible film defining an internal cavity. The air impervious flexible film completely surrounds the tray and the medical containers. The internal cavity is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level below atmospheric pressure. A method for packaging the plurality of medical containers for transportation in the tray includes inserting the medical containers into the tray, inserting the tray filled with medical containers into the internal cavity, evacuating the internal cavity to a predetermined vacuum pressure and sealing the flexible film such that the predetermined vacuum pressure is generally maintained in the internal cavity.

Method for packaging medical containers

The present invention relates to a combination container for holding sterilized elements and a sterilizable transfer port for transferring the sterilized elements into an isolation system having a wall. The container includes a flexible bag defining a cavity containing a plurality of the sterilized elements. The container also includes a collar which has an interior surface defining a bore extending through the collar. The bag is secured to the collar with the opening in registry with the bore. A removable seal is movable between a first position where the seal initially extends across the bore to prevent elements from being removed from the cavity and to maintain the sterility of the elements and a second position where the seal is moved from the first position to access the cavity such that the elements are removable from the cavity through the opening and the bore. A transfer port extends through the wall of the isolation system and includes a first end, a second end and a conduit extending between the first and second ends. The collar is in releasable complementary, sealed engagement with the transfer port. A first door is movable between a first position closing the first end of the transfer port to prevent the elements from being moved into the isolation system and support against pressure from a treatment medium and a second position opening the first end of the transfer port to allow the elements to be moved into the isolation system or clean sterile area.

Combination container for holding sterilized elements and a sterilizable

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North Wales, PA, United States of America

John Paproski