The most common challenge faced by the pharmaceutical industry in terms of product stability is protecting and extending the shelf-life of pharmaceutical products. The quality of most of these products can gradually deteriorate over a period affecting their critical quality attributes such as assay, increasing the level of impurities, moisture content, etc. The shelf-life of these products can be shortened based on the interaction between extrinsic factors such as ambient temperature or humidity.
Any proposed pharmaceutical packaging solution should be able to effectively protect the dosage form, be compatible with the dosage form, and should be composed of materials that are considered safe for use with the dosage form. It should adequately seal the medication to prevent it from degradation over its shelf life to ensure that patients receive the intended clinical benefit. Apart from being an effective, compatible, and safe, a viable packaging solution is also expected to be economical and cost-effective.
Particularly for oral solid dosage forms, blister packs and bottles are the most widely used container closure systems (CCS). Considering that most consumers store their drugs in a temperature variant atmosphere choosing the right CCS is a key here to maintain product integrity. To evaluate the effectiveness of a CCS, it undergoes stability testing. Every dose inside a blister pack is safely protected until it is taken out from the package for administration. It helps preserve the quality of the product. On the other hand, when a manufacturer packages finished products in a bottle, the available stability data demonstrate the effectiveness of the container closure system only until it is opened for the first time. Every time the bottle is reopened, the ambient air and humidity make way to the remaining dosage units. Additionally, drug products in blister packs have been found to greatly enhance patient adherence since they can monitor their medications and dosing better that lessen the chances of dosing errors. As compared to bottles, blister packs are compact, which requires less space for storage and allows us to ship a larger number of units.
The global blister packaging market was valued at USD 18.88 billion in 2019. The outbreak of new diseases, the introduction of monitoring programs or systems to improve patient adherence, increase in stringency of regulatory authorities to curb counterfeits, the rise of proactive health management leading to growth in OTC products and dietary supplements , have cumulatively contributed to the growth of the blister packaging market. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.31% and reach USD 25.78 billion by 20251.
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