Medical Packaging Market

Medical Packaging Market Outlook

Global Medical Packaging Market Shines Bright as Pharma Packaging Evolves

The pharmaceutical industry is vast and competitive. Many companies compete to develop and market drugs. For an industry that has been growing at a steady pace, the coronavirus pandemic has opened up newer opportunities. The prospects are huge and immense. The success of the pharmaceutical industry depends not only on the product itself but most importantly, in keeping and distributing medications at an optimal state. For that, right packaging is crucial; it protects from physical, chemical, and biological damage (ensures pharmaceutical product integrity, with their properties intact, during storage, shipment, and delivery). Packaging involves all operations from research, development, and production to marketing products.

The Medical Packaging Market is valued at USD 123.5 Bn in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 173.8 Bn,  growing at a CAGR of 5% by 2033. Medical packaging is done according to very strict protocols and is designed to uphold the highest medical standards and ergonomically protect the integrity and stability of a product.

The global medical packaging market is governed by ISO9000: Quality Management Standard and PSO9000: Pharmaceutical Packaging Materials Standard.

Medical and pharmaceutical packaging is one of those segments that will always be here and most likely continue to grow owing to following factors:

Specialty Drugs - The increasing use of specialty drugs to treat chronic or difficult health conditions is driving the global medical packaging market, especially in developed markets. This segment is currently driving 40% of the market growth.

Access to Medicines – Rise of middle class in fast-emerging economies has given the overall population to an access to healthcare and necessary medication. This factor also contributes to sale of pharmaceuticals, thereby making a positive impact on the global medical packaging market.

Easy Packaging Solutions – Simple and intuitive design that enables ease of opening and sealing, visible dosage indicators and reminders, clearly labelling has added to the rise of the global medical packaging market that remains cantered to providing the best solutions.

According to The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (PMMI), global medicine use was 4.7 trillion doses in 2020, up 25% from 2015, emphasizing the opportunity in the medical packaging market. As per DrugBank, there are approximately 4,167 approved drugs out of a total number of 14,549. These statistics are obvious indicators of the mammoth medical packaging material that will be required to cater to the soaring medical needs.

The specification and requirement of quality is dependent on the type of packing material and is regulated by governments of the respective countries and in accordance to regulatory agencies such as WHO GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), USFDA, ICH (The International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH)) guidelines.

Swift transition to cost-effective, infection-resistant, and security-enhanced formats such pouches and trays will continue to drive sales in the medical packaging market. Growth in the demand for pouches will reflect ongoing advances in resistance, barrier properties, strength, and puncture, expanding applications to small- to medium-sized supplies and devices.

Meanwhile, bottles will have a strong foothold in the global medical packaging market, exceeding a market share of 32% during the forecast period. Among the other medical device containers, blister packs, and glass vials will account for the significant growth during the forecast period owing to applications such as packaging of contact lenses, diagnostics reagents, and related substances.

Depending on the customer requirement, cost effectivity, raw material availability, and applicability, medical device manufacturers will opt for different packaging types such as glass, metals, plastics, etc. However, plastics such as PVC, PP, and PE are expected to remain dominant materials in the global medical packaging market, accounting for more than 40% share.

Single Use Packaging Products Drive the Medical Packaging Market as Safety Remains Paramount Concern

Medical devices and instruments are in a constant state of evolution, and with the current ongoing Covid pandemic it has become essential to respond to trends within and outside the hospital premises to attain better care at lesser system costs. The trends toward miniaturization and compactness are driving new requirements in the medical packaging industry. The use of single-use products is the latest trend in the industry and demanding efficient packaging solutions. This has forced the industry to go for plastic and other high-performance materials.

Demand for blood bags to store blood and blood components has increased considerably in the past year. There was a double-digit increase in the demand for convalescent plasma as COVID-19 cases surged. The demand for intravenous (IV) bags and dialysis bags is also on continuous rise, not just because of covid-19, but also other health related issues.

U.S., China, and India Seen as Front Runner in Global Medical Packaging Market

Asia Pacific due to the region’s sheer population size and demographics is projected to be the leader with a market share of around 46% in 2019. Aside, respective governments commitment to healthcare and healthcare spending, as well as health seeking behaviours of the population. The US has Affordable Care Act (ACA).

According to Policy Advice, the global healthcare spending could reach over $10 trillion by 2022. The US tops the list, spending 17.8% of the country’s GDP. In 2023 the nation’s spending on health will add up to $4.3 trillion. The US spends the most on health per person, followed by Switzerland and Germany.

The Indian Government has undertaken deep structural and sustained reforms to strengthen the healthcare sector. As per the Union Budget 2021, a sum of Rs 2.23 lakh crore has been allocated for healthcare and wellness initiatives in the Union Budget 2021-22, which is a whopping 137% increase over the previous year.

Global spending on medicine continues to grow. In 2020, approximately US$ 1.27 trillion (out of which 35% belongs to the U.S.) had been spent on medicines, up from just US$ 887 Bn in 2010. Spending on medicines has increased everywhere globally. However, the U.S. takes the lead in total medicines spending globally and is expected to remain the top country for medicines spending through 2025. To show how huge this is, China in the second place is estimated to spend $170 Bn by 2023, which is not up to a third of the expenditure in the U.S. in the same period. U.S. pharma industry spends about $60 Bn yearly on drug research and development; over US$2.6 Bn spent on developing a new drug.

Companies Focusing on Capacity Expansion to Meet the Soaring Demand   

The key companies operating the global medical packaging market are Westrock Company., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Amcor plc, Berry Global Group, Inc, Mondi group, Ardagh Group S.A., Sealed Air Corporation, Nipro Corporation, Catalent, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., UDG Healthcare, and others.

Some of the key developments happening in the industry are as follows:-

• In 29 April 2021, Amcor launched its latest innovation called New AmSky™ blister system was developed which has the potential to transform the sustainability of healthcare packaging.
• In October 2020, Ardagh Group announced a business growth investment program to grow the Metal Beverage Packaging and Glass Packaging business of $1.8 Bn.
• In January 2021, a part of UDG healthcare plc called Ashfield announced the formation of three business units to expand and bolster its healthcare services.

The Global Medical Packaging Market is Segmented as Below:

Material Coverage

• Plastics/Polymers
  • Polyethylene
  • Polyvinyl chloride
  • Polypropylene
  • Polyethyene terephthalate
  • Others (Polystyrene & Polycarbonate)
• Glass
• Metal (Aluminum)
• Others (Paper and Paperboard)

Application Coverage

• Bottles (Packer & Liquid)
• Trays
• Syringes/Ampoules/Vials
• Blister Packs
• Bags & Pouches
• Others (Sachets, Tubes, etc.)

Geographical Coverage

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Switzerland
  • Germany
  • Belgium
  • France
  • Italy
  • UK
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Southeast Asia
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Argentina
  • Rest of Latin America
• Middle East & Africa
  • GCC
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa

Leading Companies

• Amcor Plc
• Ardagh Group S.A.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company
• UDG Healthcare plc
• Berry Global Group, Inc
• Sealed Air Corporation
• Catalent, Inc.
• West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.
• Mondi Group Plc
• Gerresheimer AG
• Constantia Flexibles Group GmbH
• Nipro Corporation