Pharmaceutical Packaging for Small Lot Sizes

Both the pharmaceutical packaging industry and the pharmaceutical generics industry are being confronted with challenges which are fundamentally changing methods of packaging medicines. Since the beginning of the decade and in the next few years also, a large number of the major pharma companies' blockbusters will lose patent protection. At the same time the development and licensing of new blockbusters is becoming more and more difficult.

In parallel, a structural change is taking place in the packaging of pharmaceutical products. The lot sizes of prescription medicines - original products as well as generics - are continuously falling. The trend towards small lot sizes has negative effects for the pharmaceutical industry. Up to 30% losses in terms of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) are not a rarity.