Editor's disclaimer: Packaging Digest is owned by UBM.

UBM today announced results from the first InnoPack event for innovative pharmaceutical packaging concepts, which debuted alongside its flagship Pharma portfolio that also includes ChI Worldwide for pharmaceutical ingredients, ICSE for contract and outsourced services and P-MEC Europe for pharmaceutical machinery, equipment and technology.

From Oct. 25-27, 2011, the events were held at the Messe Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany, where the line-up once again broke records with an 5 percent* increase in overall attendance from the 2010 events in Paris, which attracted more than 28,500 attendees. Exhibitor numbers were also at record levels with an exceptional 13 percent increase from last year to 2,200+ from more than 152 countries, including 212 new exhibitors. 

Specifically, InnoPack featured more than 100 new exhibitors and had attendees from more than 140 countries. By the close of the event, more than 89 percent of exhibitors at InnoPack had already confirmed a place for InnoPack 2012 in Madrid, Spain at the Feria de Madrid including Heinlein Plastik, Klockner Pentaplast and Rexam.

InnoPack was introduced as a result of positive customer feedback to the 2010 ICSE Packaging Zone and post-show surveys that indicated a large amount of attendees with interest in an event dedicated to innovative packaging, supplies and resources. The event offered a platform that brought together buyers and sellers from the packaging and pharmaceutical industries and created business opportunities in a global forum. The exhibitor profile at InnoPack 2011 represented a range of pharmaceutical packaging sectors from companies spanning across Europe, China and the United States offering resources for materials, closures, labeling, anti-counterfeiting solutions and software and track-and-trace solutions.

"InnoPack offers targeted resources to companies that are looking for innovative and cost-effective packaging designs, as well as ways to deal with the recent counterfeiting issues. As quality and purity concerns have come to the forefront of the market, pharmaceutical packaging has become more important than ever," Haf Cennydd, global brand manager of InnoPack notes. She continues, "The pharmaceutical packaging industry is expected to continue growth at a rate of at least 5.9 percent per annum and is an area where a lot of innovation is taking place. With worldwide movements towards efficiency and sustainability showing no sign of abatement, this is an area where we have seen a lot happening in a short amount of time."

In addition to the show floor, InnoPack featured many additional educational elements during the three days in Frankfurt. The opening day featured "Innovation Briefs," which offered no-cost presentations from high-level executives in the packaging industry on current trends and innovations in the sector and were organised with NVC: Netherlands Packaging Centre and UBM Canon's Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News publication. These presentations were complemented by InnoPack "Speaker's Corners," which allowed for extended learning and networking benefits.

InnoPack also served as the starting point for the "Packaging Trail," which highlighted tailored resources for pharmaceutical packaging needs throughout the events. Along the "Packaging Trail," the Contract and Outsourced Services event, ICSE, featured resources such as contract packers and drug delivery systems, while the Machinery, Equipment and Technology event, P-MEC Europe, featured manufacturers of innovative packaging related technologies such as track-and-trace solutions, tabulating resources and capsule fillers. And finally, the Innovative Pharma Packaging event, InnoPack, featured the Labeling Zone with resources for anti-counterfeiting and track-and-trace needs.

Exhibitors at the event had positive feedback about the new exhibition. Fabian Su, marketing manager at Gerresheimer, says, "InnoPack is a very good platform for us to meet existing clients and look for potential new ones. InnoPack is also a great way for us to catch up on new trends and see what competitors are offering."

CPhI Worldwide, ICSE, P-MEC Europe and InnoPack will all return to offer a business and networking platform for the varied sectors of the pharmaceutical market from Oct. 9-11, 2012 at the Feria de Madrid in Madrid, Spain. Further information about InnoPack, CPhI Worldwide, ICSE and P-MEC Europe can be found online at www.innopack-pharma.com, www.cphi.com, www.icsexpo.com and www.p-mec.com.

*All figures subject to ABC Audit

Source: UBM

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