Packaging for health

Market trends and new means of distribution and packaging of various pharmaceutical products (considering only prescription and OTC drugs sold in pharmacies).  Plinio Iascone

In recent years the pharmaceutical sector has undergone significant changes, especially regarding distribution and sale to the public. While in the past these drugs were distributed almost exclusively through pharmacies and hospitals, today the number of channels has increased. Such is the case for over-the-counter products, which require no prescription. These can now be purchased in a supermarket or herbalist’s shop.

Sector performance
According to Prometeia, the pharmaceutical sector as a whole – OTC and prescription products, including veterinary drugs and those used in hospitals – grew by 3.4% in 2016 (based on data covering 11 months).
Istat data covering all 12 months of the year puts the sector’s overall performance at +4%.
Federfarma also reported a growth trend (1.5%), following a 1.4% drop during 2015, taking into consideration the entire sector, excluding veterinary pharmaceuticals. However, the Confindustria-affiliate association also reported a negative trend of -3.6% during the same period for those very prescription and OTC pharmaceuticals that are the object of this analysis.

The numbers on packaging: volumes and consumption
The packaging used by this sector can be divided as follows:
87% goes to A, B and C class prescription drugs (under the Italian health ministry’s classification system), while some 2% goes to prescription products sold without a doctor’s note, and a share of 11% (and growing) is used for OTC.
This analysis of the packaging mix of the Italian pharmaceutical market takes into consideration only prescription and OTC drugs sold in pharmacies, to the exclusion of pharmaceuticals used in hospitals and veterinary drugs.
It is estimated that the sector in question used some 1.978 million packaging units in 2016 (referring exclusively to primary packaging). This estimate does not include the paperboard box, information leaflet or any accessories used for administration.
In terms of weight, the packaging produced in Italy in 2016 amounted to approximately 49,900 t, not counting paperboard boxes for secondary packaging. If that component is included, the figure reaches a total of some 89,300 t, 1.8% less than in 2015.
If we look at the trend from 2000 to 2016, consumption in terms of units (number of packaging units of prescription and OTC drugs) has grown at an average annual rate of 1.5%.

Functionalities old and new
Pharmaceutical packaging is a highly sensitive and complex operation, requiring the packaging to perform multiple tasks:
- protect the product;
- guarantee the absence of potentially harmful interactions between the drug and the container;
- facilitate use of the drug and confer functionality;
- prevent tampering and improper uses of the product, for example through childproofing. The choice of packaging is obviously closely tied to the form of medication (liquid, solid, spray etc.), but also the properties of the substances contained in the drug itself. The packaging of a new pharmaceutical product must also be approved by the health ministry, and for this reason the packaging mix of this market has always presented a certain stability.
More recently, there has been a changing trend in packaging formats. Namely, monodose formats have seen growth to the detriment multidose ones. The former have now reached a 6% share in eye/ear care products, a 4% share in solid oral products, 9% in pharmaceuticals for external use and 10% in ointments and foams.

The packaging mix: how and why
Below is information on the mix of materials used in this market, based on 2016 survey data by Istituto Italiano Imballaggio, referring to primary packaging for the most common pharmaceutical product types.

• Aluminium. This material has maintained its leadership of the sector with a 60.3% share, in which blisters represent 55.4% of the total. The remaining aluminium packaging is made up of flexible and rigid tubes that together reach a 3.8% share, followed by spray cans with 1.1%.
• Glass. Vials, flacons and bottles represent 20% of all pharma packaging, an increase compared to 2015, including in the sale of liquid drugs. This growth has been steady for several years, driven mainly by the spread of anti-flu vaccines and those for the prevention of infectious disease, both neonatal and otherwise (for example, the recent, massive awareness campaign promoting vaccination against meningitis).
Flacons for injectable drugs represent 60% of glass packaging, followed by flacons for drinkable products with 34% and bottles for syrups with 4.5%. Glass flacons for eye products are at 0.3%, overtaken by plastic, which now dominates that product type.
• Plastic. Pharmaceuticals packaged in plastic flacons, flexible tubes etc. have continued to show slow but steady growth; in 2016 this category reached a 19% share.
 
• Paper. Spiral-wound carton containers for granular pharmaceutical products represent 0.2% of the market.

Secondary and transport packaging and closures. In addition to primary packaging, pharmaceuticals also require secondary packaging (paperboard boxes) and transport packaging (corrugated cardboard crates, pallets, stretch film etc.).
All prescription and OTC pharmaceuticals sold in pharmacies make use of a paperboard box to hold the medication in its primary packaging, the information booklet and any accessories needed for administration. It is estimated that the packaging industry consumed 39,460 t of these elements in 2016.
Deserving a brief note also are primary packaging closures, which can be divided into aluminium (58%) and plastic ones (42%).
According to the estimation of Istituto Italiano Imballaggio, the total packaging by mass - including primary, secondary, transport packaging, closures and labels - is about 114,500 t.                                          
Plinio Iascone
Istituto Italiano Imballaggio