EUROPEAN PLASTICS NEWS
Published: September 8, 2014 1:14 pm ET
Updated: September 8, 2014 1:16 pm ET
Demand for pharmaceutical packaging products in the United States is expected to increase by 4.9 percent annually and the value of the market reach $22.1billion in 2018.
Research group Freedonia reported that two thirds of this total will consist of primary containers, with the remainder being made up of closures, secondary containers, labels and other packaging.
Analyst Bill Martineau said: “Led by prefillable syringes, vials, and premixed IV systems, parenteral containers will post the fastest growth in both revenue and unit demand as new injectable and infusion therapies based on biotechnology and other advanced life sciences are introduced into the marketplace.”
Plastic bottles will continue to see the largest demand among primary pharmaceutical containers, said Freedonia, saying their leading competitor will still be blister packaging in solid oral drug applications.
Researchers estimated that the value of demand generated by pre-fillable inhalers will expand a little faster than the overall average of primary pharmaceutical containers as the devices build applications in the delivery of asthma, COPD, and, most recently, insulin therapies.
Meanwhile the market for glass pharmaceutical bottles would decrease as plastic bottles and blister packs continue to replace them.
Freedonia predicted that dispensing closures, parenteral stoppers, security-enhanced labeling, and intelligent components would see the fastest revenue growth of pharmaceutical packaging accessories. | 
