Pharmapack Europe 2026: Sustainability, Specialization, and Digitalization in Packaging

In 2025, the pharmaceutical packaging sector a move toward specialization and a pragmatic approach to material innovation. These trends highlight a landscape where technical barrier requirements and the rise of biologics dictated packaging evolution more than radical changes in material science, according to Dexter Tjoa, CEO of Tjoapack.

“People are looking for more expertise, rather than a one-stop-shop solution. It is an important distinction for a company like ourselves that is, for all intensive purpose, a fairly niche service provider,” Tjoa explains. “In terms of packaging, we see the same formats being burgeoning like the previous years, lots of biological products coming online and biosimilar so, in terms of surface growth for us, a lot of vials and syringes and things like that.”

As more biological products and biosimilars come online, there has been a significant surge in the production of vials and syringes . While these formats are not necessarily innovative in a drug-delivery sense, their proliferation underscores the industry's focus on supporting the increasing pipeline of sensitive biological therapies.

Sustainability: quality vs. eco-friendly materials

Sustainability efforts are currently bifurcated based on the packaging's proximity to the drug product, reflecting a highly pragmatic approach . For components that directly touch the drug, product quality and barrier properties remain the paramount concern, according to Tjoa. Manufacturers continue to prioritize the stability and integrity of the formulation over environmental metrics. Consequently, the adoption of sustainable materials for primary packaging remains in its nascent stages and is not yet the industry standard.

A more aggressive approach is applied to outer materials, such as cardboard. Manufacturers are increasingly keen on ensuring these materials are sustainably sourced or possess fully recyclable origins.

What are the impacts of innovation and digitalization?

Current innovation in pharmaceutical packaging is manifesting in how packaging is utilized rather than the development of entirely new material types. There is a growing trend toward integrating digital components into the packaging design to maximize "real estate", such as digital information leaflets, which are partially driven by legislation. Companies are utilizing QR codes and barcodes to provide digital patient information leaflets. Beyond regulatory compliance, pharmaceutical companies are using these digital tools to offer more sophisticated and varied information to physicians and pharmacists.

Tjoapack, booth 4D118, will be highlighting its packaging solutions at Pharmapack Europe, which is being held in Paris on January 21 and 22.

Transcript

Editor's note: This transcript is a lightly edited rendering of the original audio/video content. It may contain errors, informal language, or omissions as spoken in the original recording.

Were there any standout trends that you saw in 2025 for pharmaceutical packaging, either for primary or secondary packaging of solid dosage or even large molecule drugs?

Well, in 2025 it was really a continuation of the previous year's trends, you know, as for us as an organization, I think our you know, our right to exist, is sort of reinforced by the general trends in the market for more specialized drugs and medication. People are looking for more expertise, rather than, you know, one stop shop solution. So to say, you know, in that that's a little bit, you know, general across, of course, the you know, industry, rather than packaging specific, but it is an important distinction for a company like ourselves, that is, you know, for all intensive purpose, a fairly niche service provider. You know, in terms of packaging, we see the same formats being burgeoning like the previous years, lots of biological products coming online and biosimilar so, you know, in terms of surface growth for us, a lot of vials and syringes and things like that. Not necessarily innovative in the sort of drug delivery sense, but certainly continuation of the rise of biologic products.

How has sustainability efforts impacted the choice in materials for pharmaceutical packaging?

I think lots of companies are looking for so pragmatic approaches in what suppliers are able to offer them. You know, certainly on the let's say the outer packaging, so the cardboard side of things, usually people are definitely keen on making sure that things are sustainably sourced, at the very least, if not part recyclable, fully recyclable origins. But I would say it's, you know, it's pretty much a pragmatic approach first, you know, the, you know, if you look at sort of primary packaging components and materials that touch the product quality and the barrier properties definitely still take priority over you know, if they're sustainable or not. So to say I. Um, but the interest continues to be high, you know, I think in that sense, you know, certainly on primary materials, it's still pretty nascent in terms of, you know, pick up within the industry. It's definitely not the standard yet. But, yeah, interest among it continues to be be high. Behind.

Are you seeing innovations in the materials used in pharma packaging, either for primary or secondary packaging?

Well, on the materials, like the type of materials, I'd say, not really. You know that continues to be by nor minority majorities to the same choices as before, I think, where people are trying to differentiate themselves, or how the packaging is used. You know, what type of information is displayed. We seeing some companies take up more. More real estate for bar coding in QR coding for digital information. So the digital component of the packaging, that's, you know, kind of pre part, driven by legislation, of course, you know, but with digital information, inpatient information leaflets, but also from the pharmaceutical companies themselves, who want to provide, you know, better or more different type of information To particularly physicians or, you know, pharmacist, I think, okay.