Fountain; Pharmapack Europe 2024. The outlook for health services pharmaceutical sector in 2024 continue to improve: 94% of the industry is “moderately positive” (37%) or “highly positive” (37%) regarding the contract packaging growth in 2024. New survey results are announced before Pharmapack Europe 2024 this month (January 24 and 25), which will be held at the Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles (Hall 7.2), where more than 5000 attendees and 370 exhibitors are expected.
The event is a window into industry prospects for both drug distribution and packaging companies. The results showed a slight increase from the record scores seen in the 2023 survey, indicating a continued resurgence of confidence and innovation in pharmaceutical R&D.
Aurelio Arias, director of thought leadership at IQVIA, commented on the underlying reasons he sees behind the shift towards a positive contract packaging outlook: “in 2024, an increasing number of manufacturers will launch biologics and specialty medicines, and all will require specialized packaging solutions to help them differentiate their offerings. Additionally, this year there will be recognition that policy solutions are required to increase resilience, including an EU Critical Medicines Act and the WHO draft pandemic agreement. The crucial point is that these changes in legislation seek to track and incentivize the diversity of supply, which will require greater packaging services to meet this increased demand. “That’s why I agree that 2024 is likely to be a good year of growth for the industry.”
The full survey results and Pharmapack's Sustainability Index will be available on CPHI Online in Pharmapack's annual report. The Pharmapack Sustainability Index measures the perception of each country's achievements in terms of plastic use, waste reduction and device recycling, and therefore has the most advanced approach to sustainability.
The index has improved notably in 2024 to reach a new record after moderate declines during the pandemic years (2020-22). An 8,6% year-on-year increase suggests the industry's focus has now returned to pre-pandemic priorities. The report predicts that companies investing in greener innovations are likely to benefit from increased revenue streams in the future and the trend is expected to persist, with further increases in Sustainability Index scores expected in the next 2 to 3 years. In fact, every country except India improved their scores in 2024, with China up a whopping 50%, albeit from a much lower base compared to the index's top European nations.
