There are significant opportunities for growth in the pharma packaging industry in India. Especially there is huge potential for innovative concepts. Going by the aggressive growth strategies by the small and medium pharma enterprises in the country, there is a huge demand for affordable, alluring and attractive packaging solutions. However safe and tamper-proof packaging has to be carried out ensuring regulatory compliance for the healthy growth of the industry opine industry veterans.
Packaging plays a key role in the pharma industry .Pharmaceutical companies undertake packaging within a contamination free environment or clean room. Among the common pharmaceutical packaging techniques are foil and heat sealing, polyester and olefin package printing, polyethylene and polypropylene printing and flat bed die cutting.
Now single dose, easy-to-use, tamper proof and environment friendly packaging solutions are much sought after by pharma companies. There are also advances in tramper proof, package pilferage, child resistant packaging, trace & track, verification and validation.
According to Shah Trading Company, the market for packaging materials offers a huge variety and is cost competitive. Packaging is one of the cornerstones of the pharma marketing and therefore should be durable and should offer innovative designs.
Packaging is one of the most important aspects of customer experience today. Packaging defines the personality of a product and a good pack attracts customer attention and screams for customer trial. The exclusivity of a product today is appraised as much by the package it comes in said Vimal Kedia, Managing Director, Manjushree Technopack Ltd.
However, when it comes to plastic packaging, issues like rising costs of input materials and increasing concerns over carbon emissions cannot be ignored. It is time that the industry took a stand and start working towards making plastic products environment friendly, added Kedia.
Major players
Indian pharma packaging solution providers include Bilcare, Rexam, Manjushree. There are also new entrants like Goose which is a specialist pharmaceutical business re-engineering solutions provider. The company has developed the Artwork Manager which provides dedicated support to the packaging department of the pharma industry to automate the labelling and packaging artwork process without a glitch thereby reducing product recall due to faulty print, product mislabelling and manpower costs. It also increases the turnaround time for effective and error-free artwork approvals.
It has been well documented that the costs associated with pharmaceutical packaging can represent up to 70 per cent of the cost of the finished product. In addition, industry experts estimate that between 35 to 40 per cent of all pharmaceutical product recalls are attributed to packaging and labelling errors and omissions. A further challenge is presented with rise in material costs for paper, film and ink, making increasingly difficult to produce sustainable labels and packaging with good shelf appeal while keeping costs low due to faulty artwork management system, said Deb Pattnaik, founder and CEO of Goose.
Rexam Healthcare provides solutions to protect and deliver pharmaceuticals. The company has built its core expertise in plastic injection, injection blow-moulding and high-speed automated assembly. It is engaged in the design, develop and manufacture innovative packaging, including containers and closures, drug delivery devices, metering pumps and valves and medical components to improve patients’ health. The company received 510(k) approval in 2011 from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Safe’n’Sound, a passive safety device for staked pre-filled syringes. The fully passive Safe’n’Sound device provides effective protection against the risks of being pricked by a soiled needle, thanks to the protective sheath which activates automatically once the medicine has been administered, added the company
The Indian pharma industry is also looking at sourcing packaging solutions from China. The leading companies in the dragon land are Joyea Corporation, Packaging Stick Hochein, Imausion, Changzhao Granulating, Luoyang Yuluo Bottle Caps, Shang Dong Pharma Glass and Ningbo Dragon.
There are significant opportunities for growth as well as a huge potential for innovative concepts in the packaging industry. Companies are coming up with innovative ways to lure customers. The demand for pharma packaging globally and particularly in the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and Africa has increased, particularly in the wake of patent expiries generic drugs and contract manufacturing, said Rexam Pharma.
The global pharmaceutical packaging market which was valued at $47.8 billion in 2010 is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3 per cent from 2010–2017, to reach a value of $78 billion by 2017.
In 2010, the international pharmaceutical packaging market was led by the US, bagging a share of 37 per cent, followed by Western Europe with 33 per cent and Asia Pacific with 30 per cent . But with the global recession leading to cost cutting and increase in contract manufacturing, the emerging markets of India, China, South East Asia and Africa could drive the growth. The availability of cost-effective labour and advanced technology is an added attraction of these nations.
The market size of drug delivery devices and blister packaging is expected to grow at a faster rate than other segments in the pharmaceutical packaging industry. Increasing demand for improved drug delivery mechanisms and more complex biologic molecules will have to be complimented with better drug delivery devices.
Products such as inhalers, nasal sprays, transdermal patches and oral ingestion containers have redefined the market and become as important as the drug itself. Also, blister packaging will record growth because of increasing usage of unit dose packaging. Some industry segments such as plastic bottles will register average growth, while others, such as glass bottles and containers, may record a decline in demand as they will be replaced by lightweight and cheap plastic products.
Challenges in the packaging market
Along with the huge opportunities, there is a huge threat of counterfeit packs. According to the Hologram Manufacturers Association of India , counterfeit is the world’s fastest growing industry and there was a need for a global standard to select the right anti counterfeiting security solution.
Sproxil Inc. a global brand protection company with its novel Mobile Product Authentication (MPA) technology helps to contain proliferation of counterfeit medicines in the developing markets. The technology is the world’s only patented consumer SMS (short message service) verification service via cell phone. It enables consumers to verify the authenticity of a pharmaceutical product by sending the unique code on the drug as a free text. Sproxil also allows product authentication and supply chain consulting services to pharma companies
“ Though India is one of the largest pharmaceutical markets globally, it is plagued by counterfeit medicines made elsewhere that tarnish its image. MPA would enable Indian companies to reduce the presence of counterfeit medicines by connecting companies directly to their consumers in a scalable manner, using mobile phones. MPA architecture combines secure interlocking technologies and makes counterfeiting unprofitable. The country forms an integral part of our global strategy, as more than 80 per cent of the Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers are based in the West and the South of India and therefore we have connected with companies in Mumbai and Bangalore. The country ships drugs to over 150 countries and is a key suppliers to emerging markets where counterfeiting is often an issue. Brand and product pirates in Indian markets pose a significant risk to legitimate Indian manufacturers, leading to brand degradation, decrease in sales and consumer purchasing apprehension,” said Dr. Ashifi Gogo, Chief Executive Officer, Sproxil Inc.
The challenges of pharmaceutical artwork management are becoming complex globally. With intense pressure on time to market and to maintain consistent brand appeal, organizations are on the look- out for new ways to accelerate packaging processes. Our ‘Artwork Manager’ is designed to not only address this challenge but also help comply with brand guidelines, including regional and regulatory requirements effortlessly that is so vital for the pharma industry, said Pattnaik.