INJECTABLE DEVICES: SHIFT FROM GLASS TO PLASTIC

In the last 3-5years, the pharmaceutical packaging has witnessed a shift in market preference towards the plastics especially in the injectable devices segment. This has resulted in the recent shift in the product portfolio of some of the leading parenteral packaging suppliers companies to align with the market demand.

The key factors driving the shift are the recent advancements made in the drug formulation stage which is increasing the drug complexity coupled with the quality challenges faced by glass like delamination; breakage, siliconization etc. This is turning out to be a major concern for the pharma players’ injectable drug’s packaging procurement, as the supply base is highly consolidated and covered with long term contracts.

This article attempts to explore and understand the impact of the shift on the supply base and also pointers on how the pharmaceutical companies procurement patterns might react to the shift.

Introduction

Drugs are administered through the intravenous, intradermal or intra ocular formats are known are the parenteral drugs. These drugs differ from the conventional oral and extra dermal drug intake as parenteral are generally used to cure disease like Cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Diabetes etc. for which injectable are highly effective methods of administration.

Parenteral packaging is the one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical packaging format with an expected CAGR of 8-9% from 2014-19. The growing demand is mainly driven by the growing instances of lifestyle disease, ageing population and increasing health awareness in the emerging regions like India and China.

Author: SHUBHASHEESH SINGH