Pharmaceutical packaging sees healthy growth

-- Packaging Digest, 8/1/2007

Editor, Mary Ann Falkman

The pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and functional foods markets stand out from the pack right now because they are exhibiting above-average growth, compared to other markets.

World pharmaceutical packaging demand is projected to increase 5.9 percent annually, according to a new study from The Freedonia Group. World demand for primary pharmaceutical containers will increase 6.5 percent annually through 2011. Prefillable inhalers and prefillable syringes will generate the fastest growth opportunities among all pharmaceutical packaging products based on performance advantages in drug delivery and the introduction of new bioengineered medicines. Plastic bottles will sustain the largest share of global demand based on low cost, versatility, availability and ongoing quality and design improvements. Expanding applications in both solid and liquid oral medications will create above-average growth opportunities for these containers. The world market for pharmaceutical closures and accessories will grow 4.5 percent annually. The fastest gains will be seen by child-resistant, senior-friendly and dispensing closures; compliance-enhanced prescription containers; high-visibility labels; and tamper-evident and anti-counterfeit accessories and components.

This issue includes articles related to the pharmaceutical/nutraceutical markets, including New Chapter's line upgrades for its herbal supplements and probiotic nutrients (p. 20). Also of topical interest, secondary seals—the outside closure on a vial that does not contact the packaged drug—are a means for ensuring patient safety, as our new technology feature in this issue (p. 46) explains. RFID and other technologies can be applied to the seals to reduce medication errors, which are estimated to injure up to 1.5 million Americans each year.