- The use of blister packaging continues to grow
Blister packs have been in the battle line for doses. When taking a blister-packed drug, the patient can better grasp the amount of the drug taken (the daily dose and the taking cycle are clearly printed on the reverse side of the package). The blister package has good sealing performance, has the practicality of protecting the medicine, and the packaging process of placing the fixed shape product into a cavity and coating a film material can be customized according to the product design. These advantages make blister packaging the second package of global pharmaceutical products.
- Pay more attention to child protection packaging
According to data from the European Child Safety Alliance, in Europe, the number of children under the age of 14 who are acutely poisoned by direct contact with pharmaceutical products reaches 3,000 per year. The pharmaceutical regulatory authorities continue to pressure producers to take steps to reduce such poisoning incidents. Many manufacturers are hoping for innovative packaging to develop more child-resistant packaging, such as opaque materials, to make blister materials so that children can’t see pills like candy.
- High demand for plastic bottles
Another growing package in pharmaceutical packaging is plastic bottles. As the demand for glass bottles in the pharm
aceutical industry has stagnated, the demand for plastic bottles has been rising, and it is now a popular pharmaceutical packaging in the world. It is estimated that by 2020, the total sales of plastic bottles in the world will reach 20.6 billion US .
- Is the pouch package obsolete?
The “survival” of pouch packaging in the pharmaceutical industry depends on how innovative it is, as a new “small pouch” for secondary packaging. This pouch features a lip-sealing seal with child protection and a multi-layer composite structure that is a powerful barrier against oxygen and moisture. This level of safety allows manufacturers to use lower cost, barrier-free blister packaging materials when selecting primary packaging materials.
- Pre-filled syringes increase in dosage
Transparent market research predicts that by the end of 2019, the market value of prefilled syringes will reach $4.98 billion. The main driver is the continued steady growth of the injectable drug market, as well as the many unsafe factors in the medication process caused by the dispensing of vials and syringes that can be avoided by prefilled syringes. More and more medical practitioners are more inclined to use prefilled syringes.
- Shelf influence and environmental protection become more important
The over-the-counter drug market is becoming saturated and the competition between brands is fierce. How product packaging attracts consumers’ attention on the shelves of pharmacies. For manufacturers, the goal of packaging becomes how to get the big influence of pharmacy shelves with less material. In particular, consumers are becoming more aware of environmental protection, and producers are more actively seeking to fulfill their corporate social responsibility. Packaging material is very important, but to win with packaging, you still have to balance the visual, practical and material in the design.
- Packaging design takes patients first
With the packaging design to break through the competition in the OTC market, major brands are striving to reform packaging and bring more convenient ways to manage drugs to consumers. Such examples abound, replacing traditional blister packs with plastic tubes; and the traditional gel line of ibuprofen introduces sprays that help absorb quickly. In modern society, people’s time is very urgent, it is the key to put it in place conveniently, and even giving people a convenient view is very important.
- Packaging focuses on consumer participation
The coded logo on the package is a unique and highly targeted channel for brand owners to interact with consumers. Now, manufacturers can share vast amounts of information through the QR code assigned to the package. Consumers can choose to scan these QR codes with their smartphones to get information on dosages, storage instructions and more.
In 2018, the requirement for code identification on medical packaging is still the focus of attention of enterprises.