The pharmaceutical packaging industry is continually evolving and has achieved a yearly increase of 5% in recent years. The Pharmaceutical Packaging industry as a whole is currently estimated to be worth more than $20 billion every year.
Pharmaceuticals, like most packaged commodities, require dependable and timely packaging solutions that provide a balance of product protection, quality, tamper evidence, patient comfort, and security. Trusting companies like TriRx, a pharmaceutical CDMO with facilities in the USA & France, can help achieve these standards. (Or any other affordable CDMO for that matter)
Why Pharmaceutical Packaging?
There are many different uses and functions of pharmaceutical packaging. These include;
- Containment – The most basic purpose of packaging for pharmaceutical items is product containment. High-quality packaging must consider both the demands of the product and the production and delivery infrastructure. This necessitates that the container doesn’t leak or enable product dispersion and penetration, be sturdy enough to hold the contents when subjected to typical handling, and not be affected by the formulation’s constituents in its final dose form.
- Protection – The packaging must shield the product from any external effects that might degrade its quality.
- Presentation and information – Packaging is an important source of information about pharmaceutical items. Labels and packaging inserts for patients convey this information.
- Identification – The printed packets or their supplementary printed components provide both identity and information.
- Convenience is connected with product usage or administration, for example, a unit dosage eye drop that eliminates the need for preservatives while also reducing the hazards related to cross-infection by delivering only a single dose.
Packaging Systems
The First packaging system that they have is the material that holds the product, this is usually an envelope and holds products such as components and subcomponents that have come into close contact with the product itself. As a result of this, it can affect the shelf life of products such as prefilled syringes, ampoules, vials as well as IV containers, and many others.
The Secondary packaging is used to put the main products together. These materials can include shipping containers, injection trays, as well as many more.
As well as the third packaging system that they have includes barrels, containers, edge guards, and so forth, which are utilized moving many items at the same time as well as a shipment method.
Aseptic Blow-Fill-Seal BFS
One of the most recent trends of pharmaceutical packaging is the method and technology of blow-fill seals. Aseptic blow-fill-seal (BFS) technology is the process of forming plastic containers, filling them with the sterile filtered product, and sealing them in an unbroken sequence of processes within a single machine’s controlled sterile environment.
The blow-fill-seal method is a strong, sophisticated aseptic processing technique that has been acknowledged by global regulatory bodies for its inherent operational benefits over traditional aseptic manufacturing. Blow-fill-seal systems provide a unique mix of packaging design freedom, cheap operational costs, and excellent sterility assurance. The machines require a limited number of operational workers and occupy a modest amount of space.
A range of polymers, the most common of which are low and high-density polyethylene and polypropylene, may be employed in the process. Because of the natural ability to form the container/closure while the aseptic packing is under process, the container may be custom designed to match the exact demands of the application. This adaptability not only increases container use but also allows for integration with many of today’s new medication delivery systems, particularly in the field of respiratory treatment.
The Future of Pharmaceutical Packaging
Significant advancements in packaging and delivery methods have resulted from changes in pharmaceutical industry research and production technology. As the number of large-molecule biopharmaceutical pharmaceuticals in research pipelines grows, so does the demand for injectable packaging and delivery solutions.
Although forecasting the future is difficult, one prediction can be made with confidence: as pharmaceutical research continues to generate improved, life-saving medicines, the systems used to package and deliver those therapies will keep up with improvements in material science and imaginative design.