Developments in pharma

According to market research firm Freedonia, world demand for pharmaceutical packaging will rise 6.5 percent annually to over 100 billion USD in 2019. IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics similarly predicts that the global pharmaceutical segment will grow to more than one trillion USD by 2018, with focused growth in the oncology, diabetes, pain and autoimmune therapy areas.

‘The rapidly growing demand for medicines in Africa, Asia and Latin America, dubbed as “pharmerging economies”, is a fact that has to be addressed by the packaging industry,’ notes Richard Nemesi, global vertical manager for pharmaceutical and medical devices at Videojet Technologies. ‘Creating packaging that will resonate in the local market is critical to success in emerging markets. This is driving innovation in packaging and, in turn, coding and marking technologies, presenting pharmaceutical manufacturers with more options than ever.’

Nemesi sees a notable rise in healthcare spending in emerging markets by government, non-govern­mental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector, driven by strengthening economies and an expanding middle class.

‘Pharmaceutical spending in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a 12.5 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2016, followed by Africa at 10.6 percent and Latin America at 10.5 percent over the same period.’

At the same time the developed markets of North America, Europe and Japan will see more modest single-digit spending growth between 2014 and 2017.

‘The global focus on pharmaceutical expansion in emerging markets is driving an urgent need for global serialization and traceability, to secure both supply chain integrity and patients’ safety,’ says Nemesi.