The global pharmaceutical packaging market size is projected to be valued at USD 188.79 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.5% over the forecast period, according to a new report published by Grand View Research, Inc. Growing pharmaceutical industry, most notably in the emerging countries, such as China, India, and Brazil is anticipated to drive the growth.

Factors, such as drug discovery, and rising demand for Over-the-Counter (OTC) medicine are expected to drive the demand for pharmaceutical packaging. Rapid rise in population, improving healthcare infrastructure and increasing access of medicines to a large number of people, especially in the developing countries are other factors expected to positively impact the demand. Moreover, increasing aging population coupled with rising prevalence of chronic diseases is expected to fuel the market growth in near future.

Furthermore, increasing demand for patient-oriented medicines including biologics is further anticipated to augment the demand for advanced pharmaceutical packaging products in the coming years. Biologic drugs are derived from microorganisms, animal, human or plant cells and generally tend to be heat sensitive thereby requiring specialized packaging. This, is anticipated to further propel the growth of the market.

Increasing focus on sustainability is anticipated to increase the usage of recyclable and biodegradable materials in the pharmaceutical packaging products, which is expected to play an important role in the forthcoming years. Rising demand for convenient packaging that makes it easier to manage the dosage is expected to have a positive impact on the growth.

However, increasing packaging costs may dampen the market growth to an extent. Factors such as stringent regulations coupled with growing anti-counterfeiting efforts have increased the overall packaging costs. In addition, several government organizations have also passed regulations for serialization and traceability. For instance, in 2013, the U.S. government enacted the Drug Quality and Security Act that will drive the serialization and track-and-trace efforts.

Further key findings from the report suggest:

  • Plastics and polymers emerged as the largest material segment in the pharmaceutical packaging market, accounting for a revenue share of 38.31% in 2019. Plastics and polymers are preferred for packaging pharmaceutical products, owing to their low cost, light weight, strength, and good barrier properties
  • The primary pharmaceutical packaging product segment is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR of 8.8% over the forecast period. Primary packaging plays an important role in pharmaceuticals as this packaging is in direct contact with the medicine
  • In terms of end use, the contract packaging segment is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR of 9.3% over the forecast period owing to the growing focus on outsourcing the packaging activities in order to save expenses and time
  • North America dominated the global market in 2019. Factors, such as new product developments as a result of advanced R&D activities coupled with the presence of several major pharmaceutical companies is likely to propel the growth
  • The market is expected to witness intense rivalry among the key players in terms of product innovation, product offering, and geographical presence