As the advanced drug-producing sectors introduce new therapies with specialized packaging needs,the US and Europe will remain the largest consumers of pharmaceutical packaging, according to a study.
As per the study while Japan continues to have the major share of the Asia Pacific market (65 per cent), its share is expected to decrease as India is evolving into a fast-growing pharmaceutical packaging market as drug-producing sectors are upgraded and diversified, especially in the area of generic drugs.
China’s growth opportunities will be among the strongest, based on rapidly expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities there and the phasing-in of a government program designed to upgrade the quality and integrity of nationally produced medicines.
Growth opportunities in China will be strong, due to rapidly expanding pharma manufacturing there, and the phasing-in of a government programme to upgrade quality and integrity of domestically made medicines.
The hottest growth opportunities in pharma packaging as per the study will be in pre-fillable inhalers and syringes due to advantages in drug delivery and the emerging bioengineered medicines. Pharmaceutical closures and accessories growth will be led by child-resistant, senior-friendly and dispensing closures, along with tamper-evident and anti-counterfeit tech.
Pharma packaging industry has gone through major changes in the past decade. The advent of new drug delivery systems and the development of new biochemical compounds have resulted in a need for enhanced protection against factors such as moisture, light, oxygen and mechanical forces. It also has resulted in the need for packaging forms to play a more integral role in the drug delivery process. Packaging design today provides stability and shelf life to the drug and the delivery system, which becomes fundamental to the safety, convenience and compliance of drug use.
The pharmaceutical machinery industry is a highly competitive industry. With growing demand of various pharma products and medicines, the demand for pharmaceutical machineries is also increasing. While the leading countries are in the US and Europe, the South East Asian countries like India, China, Turkey and Korea are also making a rapid growth in this sector. With the use of advanced technology, high quality pharmaceutical machineries are being produced which are used in the manufacturing of capsules, tablets, cosmetics, ointments and liquids.
Indian pharmaceutical machinery have made a tremendous progress in the last two decades. Today world has acknowledged India’s increasing involvement in the pharmaceutical domain. However the situation was not the same earlier in 60’s and 70’s. While there was no question of exports at all, most of the machineries were imported from Europe to meet the country’s processing and packaging requirements. It was a favourable turn of events in the mid 70s changed the entire scenario and put the tables in favour of India. Due to scarcity of foreign funds, the Indian Government introduced high import duties and various import licensing policies. This compelled Indian pharmaceutical companies to look for local options and encourage the local manufacturing and engineering companies to produce pharmaceutical machines. This golden opportunity was grabbed with open hands by the manufacturers.
Within a short span of time a large number of Indian machinery manufacturers set up their shops to meet the growing machinery requirements of domestic pharmaceutical companies. This had largely helped in the growth of Indian Pharmaceutical Machinery industry . In fact, India, over the years, became well-known for being a low-cost hub for manufacturing drugs, due to low capital investment on plant and machinery, and cost-effective man power.
Having come to know the Indian prowess in the pharma sector, many foreign machine manufacturers were keen to set up joint ventures in India. In return, India used their expertise, and got an opportunity to improve on its existing machineries. Today, Indian pharmaceutical machineries cost just one third of the imported technology. The Indian Pharmaceutical Machinery Industry is growing 15-20 per cent annually , supplying machines not only to the pharma industry in India but globally.
Indian pharma industry is equipped with latest technology helping the industry from production to packaging. The technological up gradation of pharmaceutical machinery was much faster in India than other countries. From low-cost technological offerings to value-added advancements in engineering with integration of new-technologies, the Indian pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers have travelled a long way. Various international manufacturers are apparently eager to forge alliance with Indian companies, to take maximum advantage of its cost-effective solutions. The numerous joint ventures taking place between Indian and foreign companies is a ample proof of the fact that India produces world-class pharmaceutical machineries at reasonable prices.
The Indian pharmaceutical machinery industry is a flourishing industry covering various segments like capsulation, tableting, material handling etc. The manufacturing facilities in India are being upgraded to the standards of the regulated markets. Today, India has the highest number of FDA approved facilities outside the United States.
At present Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing cost much lower and this was made possible due to the huge savings on capital investment of plant and machinery besides low-cost technical manpower costs.
The Indian pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers have huge potential and as such many international companies have collaborated with many Indian manufacturing companies. This has enabled Indian pharma industry to procure machineries at a price almost one third or one fourth of the imported technology.
The Indian pharma machinery Industry is growing 15-20 per cent annually. The total number of pharmaceutical companies in the country is around 17000 and there are more than 700 pharmaceutical machinery manufacturing companies. A basic advantage of using machineries made in the domestic market is that the foreign machines are five times more expensive than Indian machines, for the same products and in the same capacity.
Though the Chinese market is growing rapidly in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical machineries India is also not lagging behind. Pharma machines are products that needs necessary customisation or after-sales support and documentation for maintenance and operating. Here Indian pharma machine manufacturers have an added advantage. They have the advantage of fluency in English and greater technology-orientated skills. Increasing number of international pharma machine manufacturers are recognising the achievements of the Indian pharma machinery industry.