the indian pharma industry is overwhelmed by major concerns like drooping patient compliance, increasing number of counterfeiting, communication cost, need for convenience and steadiness of formulations. an exceptionally sensitive product such as a drug has to be preserved with the utmost care. currently, packaging is the single way to tackle this. with new formulations and drugs being introduced in the market, the packaging industry is creating inventive solutions to resolve new challenges. rakish rao speaks at the countless of issues looming in front of the industry as it starts playing a key role in making sure that packaging of precise dosage and medicines are particular to individual requirements. looking at the responsive nature of pharmaceutical products, packaging has to play a major role in maintaining the feature of the drugs till the point of delivery. the industry of pharmaceuticals has understood that packaging plays a major role in preserving the quality component of the product. as a result, design of the packaging should make sure that the product endures through the climatic changes throughout the nation for the best possible benefit of the endconsumer or user. rajesh subramanian is the ceo of vectacraft machineries pvt ltd. he mentions that, at present, pharmaceuticals are amongst the main growing sectors and there is a rising need to offer specific packaging solutions that ensures the efficiency of medicines. dual environmental conditions like humidity and alight, always there is a possibility of degradation. as a result, there is normally a direct link between a remedy&rsquos efficacy and packaging. as per rajesh k pandya, who is the vice president &ndash operations at parikh packaging pvt ltd, few of the reasons for extreme growth in demand for medical packaging pharma packaging include the industry of health insurance registered extremely high growth, resulting in more spending on individual hospitalization& medication. advanced heart, ophthalmological, diabetics, hyper blood pressure and orthopaedics treatments & medicines have found bigger growth in consumption of nontraditional pharmaceutical products as well as takeaway packs overall the financial system has grown due to increasing middleclass income sector in india that can meet the expense of healthfriendly packs. there is also an increase in spending money, thus paving the way for organizations to take on highend packaging. for the stability of the drugs, packaging is crucial. wrong packaging can have an effect on the quality of medicines. medicines of homeopathic branch are packaged in ambercoloured glass bottles. this colour is chosen to avert the strong photon activity of light from disrupting the energy pattern of the solution. thus, bottles of amber coloured are selected to stop the harmful rays of light from penetrating the bottle. neither glass being nonporous and neutral neither hinders with the medicine nor facilitates contamination. selfsealed stoppers keep the product intact and make sure leakageresistance. pharma organizations are more and more looking at enhancing the shelflife and costcutting of a product. packaging plays a crucial role in offering solutions to these concerns. dr batra says that, if packed correctly, homeopathic medicines can hold their effectiveness forever. sanjay tripathi, who is the deputy general manager procurement, at mission invacare ltd, mentions that applying bulk packaging means such as laminates instead of pvc film al foil bottleswherever it does not has an impact on the quality of the formulation, formulations packed in split dosage packing can add to bottom line. the packaging of pharmaceuticals is also used to propagate vital information about the drug like its storage, usage, batch number, etc. the main purpose of packaging is to guard and protect the quality of the product and its reachability to the enduser without spillages. along with this, the important function of packaging is to communicate the utility information such as product contents, chemical formula or brand name, dosage, storage, usage, warnings related to the drug usage, batch number, dates of manufacturing & expiry, as well. tripathi further states that, in a nutshell, packaging conveys what it sells. packaging is also helpful in developing a relationship between the patients or consumers and the drug. tripathi mentions that the pharmaceutical packaging is rapidly becoming an important part of the drug delivery system. it is also serving as a core element of the marketing mix via which producers distinguish their products from those of their competitors. the industry of pharmaceuticals is also relying more on labelling and packaging as a medium to increase patient compliance, promote and protect their products, and address new regulations. so, packaging improves the product appeal & protects the brand identity. packaging will prevent substitution of the brand, if it can commune with the patients about its brand name. major pharmaceutical brands face the problems of counterfeits. along with the danger posed to patients, this result to great loss of revenues, as well. effective and good packaging solutions can lend a helping hand to pharma companies facing such concerns. along with this, there are effective and innovative solutions such as security holograms and packaging to fight the challenges of counterfeiting. use of holograms, bar codes, registered trademarks, al foil with hologram seal, and registration of packaging & design specifications under copyright & patents act as well as applying tamperproof packaging can safeguard the pharma products against counterfeits he further mentioned. apart from using its colour and looks to convince consumers or patients to purchase the drug, packaging also need to play a more serious role when it comes to delivery of drugs. subramanian further mentions that, traditionally, mainstream medicines have been taken orally in the form of powders, liquids, capsules or tablets, which are either packaged in strips, plastic bottles or blister packs. on the other hand, there are several other methods as well for taking medicines. these include intravenous or parenteral, transversal and inhalation methods. the indian packaging industry showcases an extensive series of packaging varieties ranging from strip blister loose packing to aluminium alu packing. for that matter, the packaging industry has come up with a lot of varieties in aluminium, plastics, pet bottles, glass, alualu, sand paper or blister technology. pandya further says that the traditional materials like aluminium, glass, tin bottles and containers are witnessing reducedreverse growth due to the high costs of material, packaging equipment and energy. some of the drawbacks with these materials include low productivity & speed and constrained spectrum of merchants. according to pandya, the indian market&rsquo highlights include highquality retort packaging materials are in small supply since there are not many producers in the local market, extremely high potential for expansion as a lot of packaging materials are yet imported, highend pharma & medical products need be developed for example steam sterilization. despite the fact that packaging needs to be regarded as a crucial part of the product, one cannot disregard the signs of innovation and growth in this important segment. pet based vials, barrier coverings with pvc for blisters, easily sterilize able and peel able packs for medical devices, tamper identifiable holograms inks, and labels are some common examples. interestingly, in pharma sector, packaging has one more role to play as it is also correlated to convenience and compliance issues of the patient. source of information httpwww.packagingnhandling.combusinessintelligence.aspxid81&bicatid9
