Even as India  is making giant strides in the global pharmaceutical market, the Indian pharmaceutical packaging as well as  machinery industries are  on a roll adding sheen to the India growth  story.

As the global  pharmaceutical industry is witnessing rapid expansion with advances in manufacturing processes and technology, the role of packaging in  pharmaceuticals has taken an incremental leap and is now a critical part of the product. The pharmaceutical industry the world over has fully recognized the importance of good packaging design and  its role in helping patients comply with medication requirements and  increasing the brand appeal.

The Indian pharmaceutical packaging market ,which is expected to  touch US$50 billion by 2015 as per a Mckinsey report , is fast mirroring the aggressive growth pattern of the global market. The anticipated high volume generics output in India will  fuel the growth of pharmaceutical packaging. This phenomenal growth has already spurred  the industry to  develop  a host of innovative packaging solutions with  quality, reliability as well as value.

Further the rising health awareness amongst consumers for more hygienic, tamper resistant and disposable packaging is also  propelling  the Indian pharmaceutical packaging industry growth. New packaging solutions will focus more on drug safety by controlling microbial growth, delaying oxidation and improving tamper visibility, say some of the experts.

Indian pharma manufacturers are  gearing up to keep pace with the changes happening the world over. The  pharma industry is now  making extra efforts to address the novel  and advanced  solutions in packaging, according to a pharma consultant. They  are looking to adopt  tamper resistant, easy-to-use and simple-to-discard packaging technologies. There is also an increased focus packaging solutions that are ergonomically designed, regulatory  compliant,  safe and affordable.

There are also efforts to adhere to ‘go green’ solutions, where by energy saving and productivity efficient concepts are being looked into. In addition, the Union government's  insistence  to  adopt bar code on all drug packs would enable to trace and track the product  from the manufacturer to  market.

Among the advanced technologies in the pharma space for packaging are use of elastomeric materials for parenteral applications and ready-to-use elastomeric closures, said officials from Gerresheimer Tubular Glass and Helvoet Pharma  at a seminar on  pharmaceutical packaging  early this year.

The pharmaceutical machinery industry is also on a  high growth trajectory  as companies are  exploring  innovations, as well as redefining quality measures and turning to standardization to meet the  requirements. Indian pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers have been one of the key contributors to the growth of the Indian pharmaceutical and drug industry.

At present, India  has the highest number of USFDA approved facilities outside of the US. These manufacturing facilities are fast being upgraded and expanded to out-compete  regulated markets. This will also act as a catalyst for the growth of  pharmaceutical machinery within India.

Commenting on the  current pharma machinery scenario, Rattan Singhania, Hon. Secretary of  Indian Pharma Machinery Manufacturers Association (IPMMA ) said over all the industry is doing  well since local and international market is good. A lot of local companies are going overseas and expansion prospects are good in domestic market also.

Export prospects are quite encouraging with growth rate being  about 10 per cent  from the previous year to around 80 countries. At the same time import is very less that too only for sophisticated machines. He stressed on the need for higher output and validation needs for tapping the regulated markets like USA, Europe, Japan etc.