Global Market Insights published a report on the pharmaceutical packaging market, in which it predicted that the market will continue to grow in the forecast period 2023-2032.

The pharmaceutical packaging market was valued at over US$110 billion in 2022. The report projected that the market value will reach US$400 billion in 2032, with a CAGR of over 13% over the year 2023-2032, based on the historical data in 2018-2022.

North America dominated the global pharmaceutical packaging market, with a share of over 30% in 2022. The reason behind such dominance is due to the region’s substantial investments in drug development, high per capita income, and comprehensive healthcare system.

Data on packaging type in pharmaceutical packaging market. (Source: Global Market Insights)

For packaging type, the market is segmented into blister packs, bottles, syringes, vials & ampoules, sachets, and others. Blister packs segment dominated the market with a share of over 25% in 2022 and it is forecasted to remain dominant among the segments.

Blister packs are popular as they provide higher patient safety. Clear medication dosage leads to lower chance of dosing error. Besides that, the packaging is highly temper-evident medication which help improve patient safety.

Data on material type in pharmaceutical packaging market. (Source: Global Market Insights)

Regarding material type, the market uses plastics & polymers, paper & paperboard, glass, aluminum foil, and others. Among them, plastics & polymers are shown to be used the most in pharmaceutical packaging market in 2022.

Growth drivers

The report pointed out that factors behind the market growth include “Rising consumer preferences for healthier lifestyle”, “Increasing use of advanced drug delivery systems”, “Growing demand for nano drug delivery systems”, “Growing use of generic medications” and “Increasing innovation in drug packaging systems”.

With increasing demand in the medical field due to COVID-19, pharmaceutical packaging companies have increased their output for blister packs, vials, prefilled syringes, bottles, and cartridges.

Increasing adoption of nano-drug delivery systems, which make use of nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic agents precisely and with controlled release, also results in tremendous potential in terms of targeted and site-specific drug delivery. Use of Child-Resistant Packaging (CRP) is also increasing, which drives market growth.

Rising product innovations, sophisticated manufacturing techniques for creating sustainable packaging solutions, the emergence of generic drugs, and serialized tracking & tracing of drugs are some of the major factors as well, contributing to the growing pharmaceutical packaging demand.

Challenges to the market

“Counterfeit drugs and fake packaging” and “Limited or inadequate access to quality medical care” are listed as challenges to the pharmaceutical packaging market in the report.

As new drugs and packaging require long development cycles and high costs, counterfeit drugs and fake packaging problems are common, especially in developing countries. These hinders the growth of pharmaceutical packaging industry.