Barcelona, Spain – August 12th, 2009 – UCB announced today that the newly designed Cimzia®
packaging was honoured with a 'red dot communication design' award,
given by a respected international jury for the largest and most
renowned global design competition, the 'red dot awards.
The red
dot awards recognise the best in product design, communication design,
and design concepts. This year their Communication Design competition
received over 6000 entries from 42 countries. Winners of this coveted
award are evaluated according to criteria such as degree of innovation,
functionality and the formal quality.
"For Cimzia® in rheumatoid
arthritis, UCB developed premium packaging components that shift the
paradigm of pharmaceutical packaging by designing for the consumer
first. I am proud of this patient-centric approach and the fact that
people living with rheumatoid arthritis worked directly with the design
teams to develop the Cimzia® packaging," said Roch Doliveux, Chief
Executive Officer of UCB.
UCB partnered with OXO Good Grips®,
a company dedicated to Universal (or "inclusive") Design, to develop
their new Cimzia® syringe and packaging components. As OXO®'s long-time
design partner, Smart Design led the team in developing all the
elements of the new Cimzia® packaging components (the syringe itself,
the packaging and the accompanying guides).
Davin Stowell, CEO and founder of Smart Design,
explains the approach. "The design team immersed themselves in the
world of people who live with RA in order to really understand their
experience with limited dexterity. We developed a syringe and packaging
components designed specifically for RA patients. We aimed to make
patients feel more in control during the process of self-injection,
more empowered, instead of reminding them of their illness."
Cimzia®'s
friendly packaging not only aims to promote compliance but also aims to
provide a positive, caring user experience. A curved front panel allows
fingers to slide under and lift it open. Following three easy steps,
the design leads users through a thoughtful and straightforward
process. The tray accommodates a wide range of patients' dexterity
limitations when removing the syringe. The information hierarchy is
clear and concise with a personal, conversational tone that is human
and respectful.
As part of the packaging components, a
'step-by-step' guide extracts key information from the full Patient
Information Leaflet. The guide follows the same design as the box, and
includes simple photography that aims to communicate the features of
the syringe at a quick glance, highlighting the ergonomic design and
OXO® brand collaboration.
UCB, OXO® and Smart Design will receive the award at a gala awards dinner in Essen, Germany on December 9, 2009.
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Smart
Design joins forces with Design+Industry creating healthy competition
in the medical device industry with a consumer-focused approach
About Cimzia®
Cimzia®
is the only PEGylated anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor). Cimzia® has a
high affinity for human TNF-alpha, selectively neutralising the
pathophysiological effects of TNF-alpha. Over the past decade,
TNF-alpha has emerged as a major target of basic research and clinical
investigation. This cytokine plays a key role in mediating pathological
inflammation, and excess TNF-alpha production has been directly
implicated in a wide variety of diseases. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has approved Cimzia® for reducing signs and
symptoms of Crohn's disease and maintaining clinical response in adult
patients with moderately to severely active disease who have had an
inadequate response to conventional therapy and for the treatment of
adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis. Cimzia®
was approved in Switzerland for induction of a clinical response and
for the maintenance of a clinical response and a remission in patients
with active Crohn's disease who have not responded adequately to
conventional treatment in September 2007. UCB is also developing
Cimzia® in other autoimmune disease indications. Cimzia® is a
registered trademark of UCB PHARMA S.A.
OXO® and GOOD GRIPS® are trademarks of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ HELE) and are used under license.
About Smart Design
Smart
Design has been turning insight and innovation into successful consumer
experiences for 30 years. As OXO's partner in designing the original
line of OXO Good Grips products, Smart Design was instrumental in
bringing the principles of Universal Design to the mass market. Their
strategic approach brings together experts in product, brand, and
interaction design, business factors, engineering, and design research
to ensure that its solutions connect with people. Smart Design's
consistent results are delivered by a 130-member international staff –
working in teams across offices in New York, San Francisco, and
Barcelona. www.smartdesignworldwide.com
About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com)
is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development
and commercialisation of innovative medicines with a focus on the
fields of central nervous system and immunology disorders. Employing
approximately 10,000 people in over 40 countries, UCB generated revenue
of EUR 3.6 billion in 2008. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol:
UCB).
About OXO
Founded in 1990 on the concept of
Universal Design, OXO's mission is to create consumer household
products that ease the tasks of everyday life for the widest range of
users possible. Since the original 15 items were introduced, the OXO
collection has grown to more than 800 strong covering areas for
cooking, cleaning, gardening, storing, organising and lighting. Today
OXO Good Grips products are sold in 54 countries and are included in
the permanent collections of numerous museums. The company has won more
than 100 design and business awards worldwide. OXO is very frequently
used as a case study on how a well-executed Universal Design philosophy
can be a successful business strategy. OXO is owned by Helen of Troy
Limited, a leading designer, producer and global marketer of brand-name
personal care and household consumer products.
About red dot design award
With
more than 11,000 submissions from 61 countries, the international "red
dot design award" is the largest and most renowned design competition
in the world. It is divided into the "red dot award: product design",
the "red dot award: communication design" and the "red dot award:
design concept." The award-winning products are put before an
international public in the red dot design museum. Each year an
international jury reviews and evaluates the submitted products
according to criteria such as degree of innovation, functionality and
the formal quality. The group of jurors is made up of renowned
designers and design experts from all over the world.
Further information
Thomas Isaacson, Marketing Manager SMART DESIGN
Email: Thomas.Isaacson@SmartDesignWorldwide.com
Tel: +1 212 784 4052
Caroline Addy
The PressOffice – PR for Smart Design
Email: caddy@pressoffice.targetwire.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1780 721 433
Nancy Nackaerts, External Communications, UCB
Email: nancy.nackaerts@ucb.com
T +32.2.559.9264
Gretchen Holt, Corporate Communications Manager OXO
Email: gholt@oxo.com
Tel: +1 212 242 3333
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