The layperson never ponders the pharmaceutical packaging market, and they have no reason to do so. However, anyone with a stake in the pharmaceutical industry should care very much about the future of pharmaceutical packaging.
After all, the arena is expected to grow exponentially in the next few years, attaining a valuation of $112 billion.
This growth can be imputed to factors like a spike in R&D budgets, not to mention developments in the technology used in the packaging of products. Even developments in the generic industry have played a role, this along with increasing contracting trends.
Companies such as Steriline are playing an increasingly important role in the provision of Pharmaceutical Packaging Solutions.
Steriline is in the business of providing mechanic and robotic applications for the aseptic processing of syringes, vials, powders and the like. Their operations are wide-ranging, and so are the types of equipment the cover, including filling and capping machines, washing machines, and external decontamination machines, to mention but a few.
You can also look to them for their barrier systems.
The Factors Driving Growth in the Pharmaceutical Packaging Market
This growth in pharmaceutical packaging has been partly driven by the public. People know so much more about the environment and health and the impact of noxious chemicals than they used to.
The Pharmaceutical industry has come under some fire for the role it has played in the degradation of the environment. People want accountability. They want to know that the giants of the industry are taking steps to minimize their footprint on the planet.
And that requires them to adopt packaging techniques that are environmentally friendly. However, it isn’t just the environment that is driving changes here. One must also consider the increase in the number of incurable auto-immune diseases some of whose origins have been traced back to the chemicals that companies use in their packaging.
The need to produce eco-friendly packaging and the desire to ensure that consumers are protected from the poison in the plastic in which most medicament are transported; these two aspects stand at the center of all the change emerging in the market place.
The giants of the industry are starting to realize that they have to change the way they have been doing things. That means innovating sophisticated procedures that can alter the way companies approach packaging.
Steps have been taken to discover environmentally friendly materials that firms can use to produce green packaging. Even the techniques that produce green, biodegradable packaging have been augmented to reduce their impact on the environment.
This has resulted in a more sustainable pharmaceutical packaging market. Of course, things are not completely rosy. Environmentally friendly raw materials are highly sought after but their prices are very volatile.
This has hindered the growth of the market in some aspects. And yet the outlook on the pharmaceutical packaging market is still quite positive.
North America is leading the charge in this field. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Americans consume a lot of dru*s which means that their contribution to the environmental footprint left by the pharmaceutical packaging industry is immense.
The Americans have also pushed packaging technologies forward, particularly with regards to the development of child-resistant packaging. They have shown a determination to produce packaging that can further safeguard medicament against external factors.
All this affects the market value of pharmaceutical packaging on a global scale. The Asia Pacific isn’t too far behind. Their market share is expected to increase by 12 percent which is smaller than the US (35 percent) but still quite significant.
Their primary interest is in rigid plastic. Their activities tend to influence the demand for polyethylene terephthalate and Polyethylene. The role of public medicament safety legislation can’t be ignored either.
Many countries are incentivizing manufacturers to develop stronger packaging that can better protect medicament from environmental variables.
Everyone wants a piece of this pie. A few like West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. and Schott AG, not to mention Aptar Group are already leading the way.
On a local and regional level, the market is still quite fragmented. Competition is expected to grow over the years, a development that will encourage diversification in the pharmaceutical production and packaging process.
Several fusions and acquisitions are expected to take place over the next few years, completely transforming the pharmaceutical packaging landscape.
