Medical packaging demand rising
An aging population, stringent infection control standards, and expanding efforts to reduce medication errors will stimulate sterile medical packaging demand by 5.4% annually to $2.1 billion in 2008. That's according to projections made in Freedonia Group's new study Sterile Medical Packaging.
The study says that prefillable syringes will show the fastest growth while thermoformed trays and sterile pouches will continue to dominate the market.
Pharmaceuticals will remain the leading sterile packaging market, the report notes, due to expanding parenteral drug use. The second-largest market, medical supplies and devices, will grow the fastest through 2008. Sterile tray growth will be fueled by customized surgical trays and heightened use in the packaging of diagnostic test kits. Sterile Medical Packaging does indicate that "further tray advances will be limited by competition from lower-cost pouches and bags, as well as poor adaptability to large-sized pouches." The 235-page report is available for $4,100.
Sound off: What will be the most prominent package type your company will use in 2005?
