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World Pharmaceutical packaging
demand will increase at a rate of 4.3 per cent a year to reach $22.2 billion
(€17.2bn) in 2007, according to a report from Freedonia Group. Companies
supplying blister packaging will benefit from particularly strong growth in this
sector.
This rate of growth, which
includes price increase, is very similar to the rate seen in the industry over
the last few years. Nearly 80 per cent of the total market in 2007 will come
from the eight largest drug producing countries - the US, Japan, China, Germany,
France, the UK, Italy and Switzerland.
Among these countries China
will generate the fastest growth, Freedonia notes, because of its rapidly
expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities and the phasing in of
government programmes to update the quality of locally produced medicines.
The study, called World Pharmaceutical Packaging, says that the US will remain
the largest consumer of pharmaceutical packaging as its advanced drug producing
sector introduces new sophisticated preparations with specialised storage
requirements.
Meanwhile, growth in demand
among the top west European drug makers will reflect upgraded government
standards requiring unit dose packaging, but pricing pressures on government
reimbursed medicines will result in below average gains in demand in Japan, the
study says.
Blister packaging will generate
the highest worldwide growth among all pharmaceutical packaging products, with
demand increasing by 6.6 per cent annually to $4.9 billion in 2007. Among the
drivers for this growth is a move by regulators in some countries to insist that
blister packs are used for a number of medications for safety reasons.
For example, Western Europe
will provide an especially strong regional market for blister packing as
legislation dictates that the majority of prescription drugs dispensed directly
to patients in European Union countries must be provided in unit dose packs.
Other reasons for the growth in
blister packaging include its broad adaptability to unit dosing, which can
improve safety and compliance and help defend against counterfeiting. And
blister packs are increasingly being used in clinical trials sample and over the
counter and sterile drugs, notes the report.
Plastic bottles will continue
to account for a significant share of world pharmaceutical packaging demand
based on cost advantages and versatility. Global demand for these containers
will rise by 4.1 percent a year to $4.5 billion in 2007. Growth will reflect
sustained applications involving solid oral medication distributed in large
quantities to institutional and retail pharmacies.
Drugs pouches and strip packs
will generate average growth, driven by unit dose and high visibility
applications. However, demand for medication tubes will expand more slowly as
the number of uses for these packages is declining amid competition from plastic
dispensing bottles, the study said.
(Ref : Chronicle
Pharmabiz dated May 26, 2005)
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