A greater attention than before is being put on child-resistant medical packaging and packaging with other forms of safety guards to protect children, animals, and other vulnerable individuals, and to have medicine, drugs, and devices safe from tampering.
According to Infiniti Research, the market for medical pouches, one of the most child-resistant forms of medical packaging, is expected to reach a value of $9.56bn by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 5.89%. Infiniti Research also expects the market for healthcare caps and closures, which are essential for childproof packaging for drugs, to experience growth, reaching $11.96bn by 2020 and growing at a CAGR of 5.83%.
Medicine is evolving with new advancements, treatments, and cures being found every year: in 2016, the US FDA alone approved more than 20 new drugs. Healthcare and pharmaceutical packaging is quickly evolving to keep pace with medical advancements and these new types of drugs and treatments.
New regulations and guidelines come with these advancements, and vendors are legally obligated to ensure that their products and packaging adhere to these guidelines.
The increasing aging population worldwide is another major factor that is shaping compliance guidelines and regulations, and is encouraging the use and manufacturing of pharmaceutical packaging that is easy to open and seal, and has easy-to-distinguish features and text so that patients take the correct medication.
Medical device manufacturers are also taking greater precautions to ensure that their products are packaged in safe, child-resistant, and tamper-resistant materials.
The demand for safer packaging is also driven by the increasing amount of drugs being prescribed to patients. According to the CDC, the rate of drugs being prescribed to patients in the US is increasing—especially opioid prescriptions.
The CDC says that roughly one in every 5 patients with non-cancer related pain or pain-related diagnoses are prescribed opioids for management of their condition. As opioids have a high rate of addiction and can easily lead to overdose, it is essential that these drugs are packaged in safe containers that are child-proof and also not accessible to household pets or other vulnerable individuals who could accidentally consume them.
This is also true for other prescription drugs, such as CNS depressants and stimulants, that could have a harmful effect on people who are not prescribed them and do not need to take them.
The global market for medical packaging is quite competitive with a significant number of vendors offering similar packaging solutions for pharmaceutical products and for medical devices. Additionally, rules and regulations for medical products and prescription drugs differ across the globe.
Vendors must be aware of the differences between regulations and other legal requirements in each country or region that they want to market their products in order to determine whether or not they will be able to do so legally.
The popularity of certain treatments and medications also differs from country to country, and market intelligence is key for vendors to determine whether or not their products will be successful in a particular country.
Opioids and similar prescription drugs, according to the CDC, are more popular in America than any other country in the world, so vendors specializing in tamper-resistant caps and closures or child-resistant pill bottles may have more luck in the American market than in other markets.
Infiniti Research analysts were recently tasked with discovering future growth opportunities for a global manufacturer of plastic packaging and protection products for healthcare, household, food, and capture 2 industrial applications.
In just five weeks, the market opportunity study helped the client understand the scope for their product’s marketability across regions such as the Americas, Europe, and Asia.