Global Pharmaceutical Packaging

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This detailed study examines the global market for pharmaceutical packaging. Among the specific products analyzed are:

• bottles and jars, which include standard plastic bottles, dispensing plastic bottles, plastic jars, plastic canisters, and glass bottles and jars
• blister packaging, which encompasses compartment packs, slide packs, and wallet packs
• prefillable syringes (injectors and cartridge holders)
• parenteral vials and ampuls, including both glass and plastic types
• IV containers (semi-rigid plastic IV containers, flexible IV minibags, and glass IV containers)
• boxes and cartons (folding boxes and cartons, setup boxes, and corrugated shipping containers
• pouches, including paper, plastic, and foil types
• tubes, including composite tubes, plastic tubes, and collapsible metal tubes
• other packaging:
  • prescription containers
  • strip packs
  • all other packaging, including aerosol containers, clamshell packs, compartment pill holders and dispensers, composite and metal cans, foil and plastic cups, metal and plastic tins, plastic bags, plastic sprayer packets, plastic stick tubes, thermoformed trays

Pharmaceutical caps and closures, labels, and packaging accessories are excluded unless otherwise stated.

The study provides historical data (2010, 2015, 2020) and demand forecasts for 2025 and 2030 for pharmaceutical packaging in millions of US dollars (including inflation) by type, geographical region, and selected countries. Unit demand for the same years are provided for most product groups. The terms “shipments”, “production”, and “output” are used interchangeably in the study, as are the terms “demand”, “sales”, and “market”, which are defined as domestic shipments, plus imports, minus exports.

For purposes of this study, pharmaceutical packaging demand is defined as the value of finished packaging products sold by merchant companies and produced or assembled internally by pharmaceutical manufacturers and contract packaging firms.

Demand for blister packaging in this study includes not only the blister component itself but also the value of the secondary folding carton, shrink wrap, and other accessories (such as tamper-evident seals or packaging inserts). In other words, it is the cost of a finished package to the drug maker (whether it is produced internally or by contract packaging firms). The blister component of the package is generally not used on its own without secondary packaging. As such, demand for boxes and cartons used in the blister packaging is excluded from secondary packaging data to avoid double counting.

US statistics for pharmaceutical packaging products include sales and production activities in Puerto Rico. Most major multinational drug makers operate one or more production facilities and consume a significant volume of packaging in that territory. In 2020, Puerto Rico accounted for approximately 40% of the value of US pharmaceutical shipments and a comparable level of pharmaceutical packaging demand.