How to prepare for the most important trends in pharmaceutical packaging?

Pharmaceutical packaging is undergoing some changes. As trends shift, so do the medical field's demands and clients' expectations. Our packaging experts are here to help you keep pace with the new situation and prepare for a seamless transition.

Read on to learn about the most important trends in the pharmaceutical industry and how to keep up with them.

What is specific for pharma packaging?

Overall, it is highly unlikely that the demand for pharmaceutical packaging will ever decrease. But since its purpose is the storage of medical and health-related products, ensuring the actual safety and protection of the medicaments should always be a huge priority for pharma companies.  

Pharmaceutics is constantly innovating. With new drugs constantly being released, the packaging industry should seriously keep up with pharmaceutical advancements. Otherwise, those new drugs may be damaged or contaminated by poor or inadequate packaging.

Another thing to remember about pharmaceutical packaging is to always be clear with your design elements and messaging. Make sure to display detailed information about each product. Texts should be straightforward, legible, and easy to read.  

While product packaging for other industries is mostly intended for marketing and advertising, these strategies would not be as effective with pharma packaging. After all, the intent behind pharmaceutical packaging is to inform consumers, not convince them to make a purchase.  

Local regulations also apply to pharmaceutical packaging. Please check with the relevant authorities in your country, state, and region.  

The most important trends in pharmaceutical packaging

Sustainability

Going sustainable is a huge trend in pharmaceutical packaging. To keep up, pharmaceutical companies have to find a balance between meeting the packaging needs of pharmaceuticals, keeping patients safe, and minimizing the environmental impact. There are a few ways to achieve this, but the most effective ones are using eco-friendly materials instead of plastic and following a quality-by-design strategy.

Unfortunately, single-use plastic is a popular choice of packaging in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. However, it is not environmentally safe, so there is a huge demand for eco-friendly alternatives!  

The solution is to use packaging materials that are recyclable and/or biodegradable. Typically, sustainable materials are ethically sourced, produced in a cost-effective and energy-efficient manner, and made from renewable resources. That means packaging waste would have no serious or long-term negative effect on the environment.

Quality by design (QbD) is another emerging sustainability trend in the pharmaceutical industry that solves the problem of antibiotic environmental contamination. QbD is all about ensuring drug quality and ultimate packaging flexibility. It ensures the correct dosage of medication is administered to patients while no substance leaks or pollutes the environment.  

Child-resistant designs

One of the most essential things to consider when packaging pharmaceuticals is making them child-proof. Little explorers are often incapable of recognizing what they are playing with or putting in their mouths. While child safety is genuinely the parents’ responsibility, accidents could occur if a kid somehow gets a hold of the medical product.  

No wonder tamper-resistant designs are such a huge trend right now. With that in mind, if your medicine is for adults, they will certainly appreciate going the extra mile to ensure their children’s safety.  

Smart packaging

Smart packaging is the new wave of pharmaceutical packaging. Because of all the new specialty drugs, pharma companies must ensure the medicine is handled, stored, shipped, and distributed safely and responsibly to prevent contamination. Incorrectly stored drugs can cause damage and even pose a serious health risk.

Here are some tools and examples of how smart pharmaceutical packaging can make the processes of storage and transportation of medical products more effective and ensure overall medicine safety:

• Temperature indicators

• Time-measuring indicators

• Embedded sensor technology

Pharmaceutical companies can insert or encapsulate thin ICS in the pharma packaging to verify storage conditions, monitor freshness, show quality data, and ensure product safety. In addition, smart packaging could encourage patients to follow prescription instructions and keep track of whether the drug is administered properly.

Glass alternatives

On the topic of pharmaceutical packaging, we cannot ignore the elephant in the room - the rising need for glass alternatives and the risk of glass dependence.  

As a very recent example, we saw how difficult it was to handle the demand for vaccines (stored in high-quality drug-safe glass vials) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the absence of alternatives, pharmaceutical companies still face a challenge and are aware that such a high dependency on glass could delay their future medicine and vaccine deliveries.  

Innovation in glass substitutes is very promising, as packaging manufacturers are paying close attention to the problem. In fact, a few pharmaceutical glass alternatives are already on the market. Some of these new materials are very promising, as they are more durable and less prone to delamination and contamination.

‍

How to keep up with the trends?

At first, the trends in pharmaceutical packaging might seem overwhelming. You might need to make substantial changes in your practices and package choices. However, with the right supplier to guide and help you, you can keep up with the trends and always keep your pharmaceutical packaging safe and up to date.  

‍