Meeting The Small-Batch Pharma Packaging Challenge

By Rick L. Seibert, Senior Vice President, Technology & Innovation, Sharp Services

Medications are becoming far more specialized and personalized and these specialty drug products are now widely recognized as the fastest growing segment in the pharmaceutical market. The industry is experiencing significant growth in therapies targeting rare and orphan diseases and these drugs, which are very often higher value, require more complex handling and supply chain provisions than less specialized therapies. Cold-chain capabilities at -20/-70°C and multi-component kitting for instance are more in demand than ever, and notably, smaller batch sizes are becoming much more prevalent. 

A greater number of virtual biotech companies across the globe are launching lower-volume large molecule drug products to address a smaller patient population. Historically, contract manufacturing and contract packaging (CMO/CPO) providers have been configured and optimised for long-running, high-volume packaging processes to support small molecule drug products.  They must now take necessary steps to adapt their services, technology and people to meet the market’s changing needs.