What's happening?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the global pharmaceutical industry. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) delays and heightened demand for vaccine development and production, as well as shortages of pharmaceutical packaging materials, all posed formidable challenges to pharmaceutical companies. 

Since the US Drug Supply Chain Safety Act (DSCSA) came into force in 2013, pharma companies have been required to harness serialisation to enhance the traceability of goods through the supply chain.

There are several key trends currently underway that are transforming the European pharmaceutical industry and changing the way it operates.

CDMOs and packaging partners are responding to these changing requirements and are working to support customers who need to transport their products across the UK/EU border as smoothly as possible.

A prominent trend within the pharmaceutical industry in recent years has been the increased instance of new medications that require parenteral delivery. As the injectable market continues to grow, so does the trend for patients to administer medication themselves.

The delivery of complex and novel oral inhalation drugs is currently undergoing huge shifts. Interest in inhalation drugs has long been of keen interest to drug developers, but commercially unsuccessful early projects have dampened their development and investment, until now. 

There are several emerging trends set to affect inhalation drug manufacturing. We are seeing increasing use of engineered particles, such as spray drying, rather than traditional micronisation in inhalation formulation development for pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) and dry powder inhalers (DPIs).

The most crucial factor when creating effective modified release formulations during drug product development is that they must be able to control the release rate of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Excipients that can help facilitate this controlled release effectively are often those that can form thin films as well as tablet matrices.

The global injectable drug delivery devices market is expected to show significant growth in the coming years as manufacturers introduce technological advancements and product innovation meant to improve convenience, compliance, and ease of administration of parenterals.

Controlled substances hold considerable potential as an alternative to opioids for use as painkillers and treatments for certain disorders. However, the regulatory requirements modulating controlled substance manufacturing, analysis, transport, import, and export are complex and challenging to navigate due to their tendency to be used for recreational use. 

Conventional dosage forms such as tablets and capsules remain the preferred dosage form for patients administering their medications at home. However, to overcome specific formulation challenges, including lower bioavailability, frequent application or common side effects, companies are now exploring other dosage forms, such as injectables.