Healthcare Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Healthcare Packaging Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period (2022 to 2027). Moreover, the healthcare industry has grown from its traditional form of practice to its current advanced position, where high-tech equipment and instruments are deployed to improve efficiency and increase demand for sustainable packaging and processing operations.

Key Highlights

• The rising awareness of environmental issues and government regulations are pushing pharmaceutical organizations to move toward sustainable processes. Also, developments by medical device and pharmaceutical vendors provide scope for expanding the healthcare packaging market globally.
• The packaging of medical devices should provide a sterile environment for their contents and remain sterile until the packaging is opened for use. The healthcare industry is growing with an increasing number of hospitals, treatment devices, and diagnostic centers. Sales of aseptic packaging are expected to increase due to growing environmental concerns and rising demand for microbial packaging.
• Healthcare companies are investing in advanced machines to increase packaging speed and efficiency. For instance, digital technology, IoT, and the blockchain allow enterprises to connect appliances to smart devices, troubleshoot and report errors, optimize operations, gain insights into machine-wide data, and record data across the supply chain.
• According to Amcor PLC in May 2022, the need for sustainable packaging includes regulatory pressure on pharmaceutical packaging companies. Pharmaceutical packaging is increasing within the scope of sustainability-oriented legislation. If the package is considered non-recyclable, the company could be subjected to the proposed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) taxes and penalties. Several types of pharmaceutical packaging are not recyclable and can be affected by this law.
• Further, as of May 2022, According to Food & Drug Administration, Title II of DQSA, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), outlines steps to accomplish interoperable, electronic tracing of products at the package level to identify and trace certain prescription drugs as they are distributed in the United States. This will enhance FDA's capability to help safeguard consumers from exposure to drugs that may be counterfeit, stolen, contaminated, or otherwise harmful. These needs will also improve the detection and removal of potentially harmful drugs from the drug supply chain to protect U.S. consumers and drive companies to develop sustainable packaging solutions.
• The pharmaceutical packaging industry also faces many challenges due to the delicate nature of its products. Inadequate packaging can cause chemical changes in the development, affecting its healing ability and ineffective performance. Some challenges include supply chain disruptions, regulatory concerns, and counterfeit products.
• Moreover, the spread of COVID-19 has negatively impacted the market to a certain extent due to disruptions in the supply chain due to extended factory closures globally. Logistically, it has been difficult for bottles, vials, and ampoules makers to provide to the pharma companies. Such instances restrain the growth of the market.

Key Market Trends

Blister Packs are Expected to Witness Significant Growth

• Blister packs are one of the popular and convenient dosage formats. Companies operating in the healthcare packaging industry are economical alternatives to those offered in traditional markets where healthcare and pharmaceutical companies meet sustainability goals and shelf life requirements. Blister packs are used in medical devices and instruments such as catheters and subcutaneous syringes. However, blister packs are less useful in packaging medical devices than in pharmaceutical packaging.
• The occurrence of new diseases focused on population health management, the emergence of informed customers, and the growth of OTC (over-the-counter) drugs have augmented the growth of blister packaging in the pharmaceutical industry. Also, blister packaging has gained popularity to protect medication from moisture. In response to these trends, companies like Burgopak and Ecobliss have developed innovative blister packaging that is child-proof.
• Market vendors are making significant first-mover initiatives catering to material use. For instance, in October 2021, Astellas started employing plant-derived biomass-based polymers in blister packages as the primary packaging for pharmaceutical items. The blister package contains 50% biomass-based plastic polyethylene generated from sugarcane. It's a green packaging that adheres to the notion of carbon neutrality, which seeks to balance greenhouse gas emissions and absorption.
• Further, in April 2021, Amcor announced custom trails for the first recyclable polyethylene-based thermoform blister packaging. The new packaging is expected to launch in the market in the second half of 2022, which is designed to meet the strict standards of highly specialized and regulated pharmaceutical packaging while also providing a more sustainable alternative to the in-demand healthcare packaging type. Compared to other packaging options, the packaging has a carbon footprint of up to 70%.
• Moreover, as the healthcare, nutritional, and pharmaceutical industries are becoming mindful of the need to reduce the use of plastics that may take many years to degrade, there is an increased pressure on vendors to bring out plastic-free blister packs that may provide the same quality and maintain the shelf life of the pills. Many of the benefits inherent in the blister pack design align with the pharmaceutical industry's current demands. As a result, blister packs have been and may continue to be one of the fastest-growing packaging options in the industry.

North America is Expected to Dominate the Market

• In North America, the United States and Canada are countries with booming economies, aging population segments, well-developed health care delivery systems, gross domestic product (GDP) levels, and health insurance. However, the United States is one of the largest geographic markets for healthcare packaged products due to its advanced primary care community, extensive healthcare and life sciences research activities, high healthcare cost concentration, and large pharmaceuticals.
• According to a survey conducted by IQVIA Inc. in May 2021, total net health care costs are expected to rise from USD 359 billion in 2020 to USD 380 billion to USD 400 billion in 2025, with annual compound interest growth of 0% to 3% in the United States. New brand launches are anticipated to continue at record levels, with 50-55 new active ingredients expected to be launched each year, about USD 133 billion to be spent by 2025, slightly higher than in the last five years.
• Also, as the United States faces high drug imports from countries other than Canada, the U.S. government has approved a pilot project for wholesalers and pharmacists to import FDA-approved drug versions from Canada. The FDA implements a legal route to import certain prescription drugs from Canada to reduce the cost of certain prescription drugs to U.S. consumers without introducing additional risks to public health and safety. This leverages the healthcare packaging market with more imports into the country.
• Companies are also focused on the expansions of their business to gain more revenue in the market and sustain the competition. For instance, in June 2022, focusing on sterile barrier packages for the orthopedic medical device market, Guardian Medical USA recently raised more than USD 2.0 million in private funding. With this funding, the company will accelerate product development and facility growth to meet the growing demand and interest in using rigid tubes for sterile packaging orthopedic implants and devices of all types and sizes.
• Similarly, in September 2021, Jones Healthcare Group and Good Natured Products Inc partnered to expand sustainable packaging solutions at a new and innovative facility. With this new plant-based solution, Jones will streamline packaging design, eliminate concerns about chemicals, and make packaging easier to recycle in most homes in North America. Materials for this new custom blister pack are available from independent national chain pharmacies throughout Canada.

Competitive Landscape

The healthcare packaging market is moderately fragmented. Currently, a small number of significant players dominate the market in terms of market share, including Gerresheimer AG, Corning Incorporated, Nipro Corporation, West Pharmaceutical Services, SGD SA, and others. These major players dominate the market and concentrate on growing their clientele across numerous nations. These businesses use tactical joint ventures to raise their market shares and profitability.

• May 2022 - Gerresheimer AG has signed a contract with ISR, a drug development company, for the large-scale production of the nasal inhaler IcoOne for Phase III trials of the dry powder COVID-19 vaccine. Gerresheimer is a partner in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, and cosmetics, offering a very wide range of products for pharmaceutical and cosmetic packaging solutions and drug delivery systems.
• January 2022 - West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., a provider of innovative injectable drug delivery solutions, has announced an exclusive supply and technical agreement with Corning Incorporated. The new collaboration extends Corning's Valor Glass technology, which enables advanced injectable packaging and delivery systems for the pharmaceutical industry to improve patient safety and increase access to life-saving therapies.

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