Pharma manufacturers are looking to their packaging equipment suppliers for simplistic and flexible gear, says Rich Hollander, VP for packaging services at Pfizer.
Simplistic flexibility gives a boost to drugmakers shedding the blockbuster business model by allowing them to more easily produce smaller lots and to speed up production changeovers. That way, the equipment plays a role in pharma's management of both complexity and cost, Hollander tells Packaging World.
Speaking at the Interpack show last week, Hollander said he expected demand for the unit-dose packaging form more common in Europe will rise as a result of U.S. healthcare reform. However, he anticipates only a "modest" overall impact on packaging with slight increases in units packed and price pressure.
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