India Pharmaceutical Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

India Pharmaceutical Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Indian pharmaceutical packaging market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% over the forecast period 2021 to 2026. The growing population, rising health awareness, increasing life expectancy can be attributed to the growth of the pharmaceutical packaging industry. Moreover, growing awareness of environmental issues due to traditional packaging material and the adoption of new regulatory standards for packaging recycling is also driving the pharmaceutical packaging industry in India.

• India is the second most populated country with 1.34 billion people and is the third-largest economy. Despite significant improvements in healthcare in the past years, the number of chronic disease cases is surging at a rapid pace. According to the WHO report, over 20% of the country's population suffers from at least one of the non-communicable diseases or chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart ailments, respiratory diseases, and diabetes, that are estimated to cost India USD 6.2 trillion during the period 2012-2030. To prevent economic burden in the coming years, most pharmaceutical companies are researching and developing a novel vaccine that would drive the growth of the pharmaceutical packaging market in India.
• Further, the Indian government is providing free health coverage to poor people with the help of national programs, as every year, more than six crore people are pushed into poverty because of medical expenses. For instance, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is a scheme of the National Health Policy that aims to provide free health coverage to the bottom 40% poor and vulnerable population.
• Since the scheme, Arogya Yojana had launched two years ago, and until February 2020, more than 12 crore e-cards have been generated, and over 86 lakh people have taken benefit under the scheme. As now more people can opt the medical assistance, the manufacturing of drugs is expected to augment the packaging industry in the future.
• There is a significant usage of plastic packaging in the pharmaceutical packaging market in India. Blister packs are one of the most prominent packaging methods and are commonly used in the pharmaceutical market. Blister packs are used for tablets, ampoules, syringes, and vials, and they offer individual packing of medicine doses and keep other doses intact.
• Packaging in the pharmaceutical industry varies from drug to drug, and normally there are three levels of packaging commonly referred to as primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging. The primary packaging system is the material that first envelops the product and holds it, i.e., those package components and subcomponents that actually come in contact with the product, or those that may have a direct effect on the product shelf-life, e.g., ampoules and vials, prefilled syringes, IV containers, blister packs, etc.
• COVID-19 impact with nationwide lockdown, government regulations, and the steady rise in the national infection rate has had far-reaching financial impacts on the packaging market, especially in the early stages. However, the pandemic has given way to growing market demand for packaging as the outbreak raised concerns among consumers about the virus's ability to survive on packaging surfaces.

India's pharmaceutical packaging sector is rapidly climbing the growth ladder, and many growth drivers are gaining momenta, such as the creation of many small and large manufacturing and processing industries. In addition, most pharmaceutical companies export their products to overseas markets, so they adopt high-level packaging standards.

• India is the third-largest pharmaceuticals in terms of volume and thirteenth most significant in terms of value as it has a large raw material base and availability of a skilled workforce. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, India's pharmaceutical export stood at USD 13.69 billion in 2019-2020 (till January 2020) and is expected to grow by 30% to reach USD 20 billion by the end of 2020.
• The country has one of the lowest manufacturing costs in the world, more economical than that of the USA and almost half of Europe; it is the largest supplier of generic medicines in the world (20% to 22%of global export volume). It has fueled the research and development of efficient packing solutions for the pharmaceutical sector that substantially prevents contamination, provide drug safety and convenience of delivery and handling.
• Moreover, India imports 70% of APIs from China, and to safeguard the country, on March 3rd, 2020, India has restricted the export of 26 active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and medicines due to the impact of coronavirus COVID-19 in China, which accounts for 10% of all exports from the country. This has caused a panic in European countries as 26% of the European formulations are controlled by Indian APIs.
• The Indian government has lifted the restriction to export for two drugs, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an anti-malarial drug considered suitable for the treatment of COVID-19, and paracetamol. This has again increased the demand for a better pharmaceutical secondary and tertiary packaging market in India.
• In emerging markets, India, China are quickly catching up with the US, Western Europe, and Japan markets as pharmaceuticals are exported in large quantities to developed countries from India. It has become essential to comply with the packaging standards of developed countries in emerging markets. As emerging markets offer cost-effective, standardized packaging solutions, many offshore companies are outsourcing their business to countries such as India and China for cost-effective solutions.

Plastic packaging is a multi-layer plastic laminate sheet, mainly containing PE, PP, PET, and PVC. Products used primarily in plastic products used in the pharmaceutical packaging industry in India are made of polyethylene.

• Plastic bottles used for pharma packaging are made of a variety of plastic such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. It is a clear, strong, and lightweight plastic that is also used for storing and selling packaged products across the industry, such as drinking water, carbonated soft drinks, and soda, etc. They are mostly used as primary and secondary packaging material.
• Pharmaceutical companies are relying more on packaging and labeling as media to promote and protect their products in the increasing counterfeit market and to meet the new safety regulations. Plastic packaging has gained popularity due to its properties such as barrier against moisture, high dimensional stability, high impact strength, resistance to strain, low water absorption, transparency, resistance to heat and flame, etc.
• Polyvinyl chloride and PVDC (polyvinylidene chloride) are mostly used in pharmaceuticals as primary packaging materials that protect the pharmaceutical products against oxygen and odor, moisture, water vapor transmission, contamination, and bacteria. It makes both PVC and PVDC the material of choice for blister packaging.
• PVC is the third most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer used across the globe as it has excellent organoleptic properties, which means it does not affect the taste of packaged food or medicine. PVC mono films protect against contamination by helping to prevent the spread of germs during manufacture, distribution, and display and are sunlight and UV rays resistant.
• Blister packaging is the term used for a variety of preformed plastic packaging used in small consumer goods, food, and pharmaceuticals. The main component of a blister pack is a cavity in a moldable web, usually a thermoformed plastic. Drug packaging is a technology used to improve treatment compliance and patient safety. Sustainable plastic packaging in the pharmaceutical industry has great potential for future development in the country.

The Indian pharmaceutical packaging market is fragmented and is dominated by a few major players like West Pharmaceutical Packaging India Pvt. Ltd.​, Huhtamaki PPL Ltd​, SGD Pharma India Ltd, Amcor Flexibles India Pvt Ltd​, and Uflex Limited​. These major players, with a prominent share in the market, are focusing on expanding their customer base across foreign countries. These companies are leveraging strategic collaborative initiatives to increase their market share and increase their profitability. However, with technological advancements and product innovations, mid-size to smaller companies are increasing their market presence by securing new contracts and by tapping new markets.

• January 2020 - Huhtamaki PPL Ltd had completed the acquisition of Mohan Mutha Polytech Private limited’s flexible packaging business. The acquisition would allow Huhtamaki to speed up its growth in India by improving its capacity to serve customers in South India.
• October 2021 - Uflex joined forces with flexible packaging manufacturer Mespack and custom injection molding innovator Hoffer Plastics to develop easily recyclable polypropylene (PP)-based hot-fill pouches with material-reducing spout caps. This new pouch combines the strength of UFlex’s oriented PP and cast unoriented PP-layered laminate structure, offering enhanced barrier properties, easy heat sealability, and longer shelf life.
• October 2021 - West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. announced that its NovaGuard SA Pro safety system – a single-use accessory for prefilled ISO standard 0.5 mL and 1mL long staked-needle syringes, has won the INTERPHEX Best Technologies Innovation Award. To help mitigate the needle stick injuries, the NovaGuard SA Pro safety system has recently expanded its technology platform to include a 0.5mL device for standard 0.5mL glass syringes, in addition to the 1ml device that was already available for 1ml long glass syringes.

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