In April, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that poor treatment compliance costs the global drug industry around $30bn (€19.4bn) a year. The organization also suggested that "shifting the effectiveness of patient adherence may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in medical treatment."
Among those likely to welcome Freedonia's forecast will be US packaging specialist Alcan, which is involved in the development and manufacture of blister pack and wallet technologies that are designed to both encourage and remind patients of dosing regimens and to aid understanding of their disease.
Injectables and transdermals
Freedonia predicts that the US pharmaceutical packaging market will grow 5.5 per cent a year and be worth $16bn (€10.3bn) by 2012. The report expects that the demand for parenteral vials, dispensing bottles, pre-fillable inhalers and syringes, track and trace labels, unit dose pouches and other added-value containers will drive the expansion.
The group also predicted that the market for primary pharmaceutical containers such as pre-fillable syringes and vials will grow to a value of $9.6bn, driven by the production of new injectable biologic therapies.
The researchers forecast that the pharmaceutical pouch sector will undergo rapid expansion. The group based this prediction on the increasing number of potential applications for unit dose packages, transdermal patches and topical creams in disorders that require long-term, regular treatment.
The market for pre-fillable inhalers is also expect to grow strongly, as the development of products for indications like chronic asthma, allergy and migraine will accelerate markedly over the next few years in response to the increasing incidence of such conditions worldwide.
Plastic bottles maintain dominance of OTC
The report goes on to predict that plastic bottles will remain the most widely used packaging system for oral medications, including both bulk and prescription drug products. Plastic bottles are also expected to maintain their dominance of the over-the-counter (OTC) market, particularly those for products that are sold in quantities of 50 capsules or more.
Freedonia also forecast that the market for blister packaging will undergo considerable expansion, based on their adaptability. The group argued that because blister packs offer additional space for extended labelling information and can be readily fitted with track and trace technologies, they are attractive to drugmakers wishing to provide additional safety information and limit potential counterfeiting.
