Focus on pharma

Market surveys indicate that the global pharmaceutical packaging industry will grow at a rate of 5.9% per annum, with predictions for the market to reach US$34 billion by the close of 2011. This steady growth has served to change the face of the pharmaceutical packaging market by bringing the needs of buyers and sellers of pharmaceutical packaging into the spotlight. A renewed focus is on the development of innovative packaging design that maximises materials use and confronts growing concerns about quality validation and anti-counterfeiting of the pharmaceutical ingredients and products being packaged.

In 2011, show organiser UBM Live will address these concerns in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical market at its CPhI Worldwide events. And this year, an already wide-ranging portfolio of co-located shows sees the roll-out of InnoPack, to cater for the pharmaceutical packaging sector.

InnoPack has grown out of the ICSE Packaging Zone, which featured at the 2010 Paris show. InnoPack will debut during CPhI Worldwide from 25-27 October 2011 at Messe Frankfurt, Germany, and will be focused on innovative packaging concepts in the global pharmaceutical packaging markets. Exhibitors will be in attendance from across Europe, China and the USA, and the event will offer resources and solutions, as well as news about launches and innovations, for the production of blisters, blow-moulded plastics, ampules and vials, caps and closures, tubes and glass, bottles, pouches, strip packs, and more. InnoPack will offer value-added educational and networking features through daily ‘Innovation Briefs’ presented by key players in the industry that cover industry trends and critical case study insights into pharmaceutical packaging.

The show will also feature a Labelling Zone hosting companies that offer anti-counterfeiting and track-and-trace solutions to the pharmaceutical industry. The evolution of the ICSE Packaging Zone into InnoPack was mainly based on feedback from attendees of the past ICSE Europe events. Most recently, this demand increased and over 11% of the 28,500 attendees at the Paris event’s line-up in 2010 expressed interest in a dedicated pharmaceutical packaging event.

However, its introduction has also been driven by the current trends in this sector of the pharmaceutical industry. In a market where needs are ever changing, events such as this must cater to areas of growth and demand. With the transition to a global market, many of the boundaries to business that existed previously have been broken down. The transition to a global market has not come without cost and the consumer market has unfortunately seen a flood of products that lack standards and do not meet basic quality and purity expectations. Packaging is a key area where these concerns can be addressed, especially when it comes to processes such as validation. InnoPack serves to create an environment where both exhibitors and attendees can meet and do business while also getting a clear view of new trends, what competitors are offering and in what direction the industry is expected to head.

Throughout the full line-up of events that InnoPack will be part of, there is evidence of many diverse, yet intertwined needs for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. In the case of InnoPack, the event will benefit from co-location with the established P-MEC event for pharma machinery, technology, laboratory and biotech solutions. InnoPack attendees will be able to access a comprehensive group of P-MEC exhibitors offering innovative packaging materials specifically designed for the Pharma industry.

The synergy between CPhI Worldwide, ICSE Europe, P-MEC and the new InnoPack events will be further complemented by the Packaging Trail that helps attendees to locate exhibitors more easily with the resources they are looking for throughout the show floor.

For example, the P-MEC Europe section of the trail will feature manufacturers of innovative packaging related technologies such as track-and- trace solutions, tabulating and capsule fillers.

Visitors can register online for free entry to Innopack.