Drugs degrade faster at higher temperatures, so the 鈥渦se by鈥� date on the packet must be conservative just in case they are subjected to unusual conditions. But that means that some drugs get thrown away despite being perfectly usable.
To avoid this waste, American computer company Hewlett-Packard has patented intelligent packaging that contains a thermometer, a clock and a simple computer (US 2003/204359). After a pharmacist has programmed the packaging with the details of the drugs it contains, it measures temperature and time and uses this information to calculate a more reasonable use-by date, which it keeps updated. The company says the packaging would be re-usable and particularly cost-effective for expensive drugs.
