Report: Market for anti-counterfeit drugs packaging to hit $191bn by 2030
New study examines industry by product, application and region | China, Germany and India predicted to see the largest growth.
The global market for anti-counterfeit pharmaceutical packaging is expected to grow from $99.6 billion in 2022 to $191.2 billion in 2030, according to a new report.
Anti-counterfeit pharmaceutical packaging guards against the fake labelling of medicines, and helps maintain correct brand identification. Research and analytics firm Greyviews published the report on the industry, ‘Anti-Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Packaging Market’, in January.
Market drivers
The growth of over $90 billion in the market is mainly attributed to the rise in the production of counterfeit drugs. The World Health Organization estimated in 2017 that one in 10 medicines sold in underdeveloped countries is fake, at a huge cost to both individuals and society.
Globalisation has made the regulation of drugs more difficult, and the WHO states: “Many falsifiers manufacture and print packaging in different countries, shipping components to a final destination where they are assembled and distributed.”
Greyview’s report notes that the heightened demand for life-saving medicines in general is fuelling this black market, and intensifying the need for brands to protect their products. Consumers are also becoming more aware of the potential dangers of fake medicines.
Anti-counterfeit packaging is increasingly being used to maintain brand integrity and ensure consumer safety. One innovation in this area is the development of an edible ‘security tag’ embedded into medicine that acts as a digital fingerprint for each drug capsule or tablet. The tag comprises a technique known as physical unclonable functions (PUF), which means it cannot be copied.
However, the high cost of anti-counterfeiting technology can deter smaller manufacturers and be a barrier to its uptake.
Major players
The report also includes a regional market forecast. China is expected to see the highest level of growth, up from $7.7 billion in 2022 to $15.3 billion by 2030. The German market for anti-counterfeit pharmaceutical packaging is also set to increase significantly, partly due to a wider “demand for product authentication methods in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector”.
A high level of pharmaceutical production in India is expected to drive growth there, coupled with the need to combat the thriving trade in fake drugs in Asia.
Companies at the forefront of the industry, which were analysed in the report, include Avery Dennison, 3M Track and Trace Solutions, Stevanato Group, Digimarc, Zebra Technologies and Applied DNA Sciences among others.
Product type and application
Types of anti-counterfeit pharmaceutical packaging products are broken down into four sections in the report; overt, track and trace, forensic and covert. The researchers say that covert made up the largest share of the market in 2022 with around 49%, and that “security labels is anticipated to become one of the most lucrative covert security approaches”.
In terms of application, the report examines the following areas: medical and supplies, pharmaceutical and healthcare, gloves, syringes and needles, surgical tapes, scissors and others. Pharma and healthcare was the leading application for anti-counterfeit packaging, with a market share of around 37% in 2022, representative of the costly damage fake goods cause major manufacturers.
A sample of the report can be accessed here.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
