The Tully Tube Named One of TIME's Best Inventions of 2026

TIME has named the Tully Tube™ one of its Best Inventions of 2026, in the Medical & Healthcare category. The list covers 300 inventions from around the world.

Why a pill bottle?

Estimates show that more than 8 billion plastic prescription vials are discarded in the United States every year. Nearly every prescription filled still comes in a plastic vial, and patients throw that vial away after a single use.

The Tully Tube is the world's first and only paper prescription bottle to meet regulatory and operational requirements. It is humidity resistant, water resistant, and light proof. It has a reversible child-resistant cap with an easy-open option and a patented adapter mechanism, and it can withstand greater force than an amber plastic vial. Pharmacies can custom-print the Tully Tube with their own branding, and patients can recycle it curbside or compost the paper body after use. The Tully Tube reduces plastic by up to 71%.

Already in use across the country

Thirty-seven health systems, telemedicine brands, retail pharmacies, compounding pharmacies, and veterinary practices have adopted the Tully Tube, including Hackensack Meridian Health, NavioMD, Dartmouth Health, Penn Medicine, UPMC, AHN, Wellstar, UVA Health System, Karmanos Cancer Institute, St. Luke's Health System, The Pharmacy Hub, and Blueberry Pharmacy. In a pilot with Wellstar, 80% of patients reported more positive feelings about the pharmacy after the switch, and prescription volumes rose 6.5%.

What happens next

Parcel Health designs and manufactures sustainable pharmaceutical packaging. The company is based in Pittsburgh, and the work continues here. More pharmacies and health systems switch to the Tully Tube this fall, and our team will be at industry events through the season, including ASHP, with samples in hand. If your pharmacy or health system wants to see the Tully Tube up close, talk to our team at parcelhealth.co.

Our mission is to eliminate plastic from healthcare supply chains, one prescription at a time.

See the Tully Tube on TIME's list: https://time.com/collection/best-inventions/2026/parcel-health-tully-tube/

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