CPHI Online Trend Report – 2025 Pharma Packaging Prospects

The pharmaceutical packaging market has seen marked shifts in innovations, priorities, and focus over the last few years. With the rise of hit drugs like GLP-1 agonists and biologics requiring specialised packaging considerations, the strain of meeting sustainability and patient-centric goals, all while balancing costs, time, and efficiency, the pharmaceutical packaging sector is gearing up for valuable opportunities to capitalise on in the market. 

Key Findings 

An early consideration in the drug development process 

Increasingly, pharmaceutical packaging experts are brought into discussions early in the drug development and manufacturing process. Formative studies and usability testing to inform packaging decisions are being considered from the start for successful delivery to the patient or end-user. These studies often include human-factors studies and can ultimately inform how a particular drug molecule is designed for the most efficient, safest, and protective packaging. Factors such as cold-chain storage considerations are also playing a role in the innovations coming out of the packaging sector.  

Achieving the large-scale goals of sustainability and unique, patient-centred drug packaging all while maintaining drug safety and efficacy demands that pharma packaging be considered at the earliest stage of developing a new drug product. 

Top therapeutics demand packaging innovation 

Some of the biggest drivers of packaging innovation is the demand for blockbuster drug products requiring particular storage and transport, such as cold-chain storage, and human-centred usage.  

“What we’re seeing in the industry today is a focus on bio-therapeutics (biologics and biological products),” Asmita Khanolkar, Senior Director at SMC Ltd. states. “A lot of these biological products are complex formulations with special storage and delivery requirements.” 

Karin von Kienlin, Consulting Managing Director at L.E.K., adds, “Injectables get a lot more attention and have higher packaging value per unit than, say, oral solid doses. GLPs and all these biologics definitely have an impact, but so do vaccines. These are all liquid doses, and some of them need controlled environments such as difficult temperature ranges or short shelf lives.” 

Khanolkar also states that “Self-administration is one of the key components when transferring from hospital to home, and that may involve additional devices, including autoinjectors or on-body devices, and additional packaging and human factors considerations.” 

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