Pharmapack Europe Trend Report 2021

Packaging & Drug Delivery Trend ReportWith highlights from Pharmapack Europe 2021This report explores drug delivery and pharma packaging trends, and features highlights from the 2021 edition of Pharmapack EuropeContents

Foreword: Looking to the Future

The world appeared to stop in the spring of 2020 as the full weight of the coronavirus pandemic fell upon us. As nations closed their borders, instigated travel bans and ordered lockdowns upon their populations, one could have been forgiven for thinking that life as we knew it had changed irrevocably.

Several industries which relied on the free movement of people suddenly found their business models severely challenged by the indefinite hiatus enforced upon them. Airlines grounded their planes, hotels and restaurants shut their doors as did entertainment venues ranging from sports stadiums to theatres, cinemas and galleries.

Amid the turmoil, one industry that could not afford to close down was that of pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery. Despite supply chain bottlenecks affecting both packaging materials and medicines, the sector soldiered on, delivering essential lifesaving and life-changing drugs to patients. Of course, the sector had new demand priorities to consider; the much-anticipated vaccines against COVID-19 would require an unprecedented number of vials to serve a global population.

It is to the industry’s credit that despite the restrictions of remote working on those of us lucky enough to be able to do so, a sturdy ‘business as

usual’ approach to the crisis ensued and goals and ambitions continued to be achieved. This was in no small part due to the courage and resilience of the lab-, facilities- and warehouse-based workforces not afforded the luxury of home working, who continued to travel to work to ensure vital supply chains could still function.

As we approach the tail-end of 2021 and the virus enters a new phase, the world looks different to how it did 18 months ago. The impressive vaccine rollout offers us hope that the world is turning a corner.

Another positive note for 2021 is that in October the drug delivery and packaging community reunited on-site at Paris Expo, for Pharmapack 2021. The event was a perfect opportunity for the market to not only celebrate the wins against adversity over the last year and a half but also discuss the wealth of creative ideas that continue to drive the industry onwards.

So rather than looking back at what has been a challenging past few months, this Trend Report - featuring highlights from the Pharmapack 2021 content programme - has been written very much in the spirit of looking forward and addressing the key challenges and opportunities of the future.

In interviews with subject matter experts, we have examined the latest drug delivery innovations in large volume biologics which address the issues of administering large volume, viscous drugs without compromising patient comfort. We also discuss sustainability and what the industry is doing to fit eco-friendliness and sustainability into their manufacturing and distribution processes. And finally, we look at the exciting world of connected devices and smart packaging, where technology intersects with medicine to provide solutions around patient adherence and supply chain tracking and logistics.

Gareth Carpenter
Editor - Pharma, CPhI

About the Contributors:

Gregor Anderson, Managing Director, Pharmacentric Solutions

Greg set up Pharmacentric Solutions in late 2017 offering consultancy services specialising in packaging and device strategies and solutions for the pharma industry. He advises both small and large life science companies on topics such as sustainability, human factors, design for manufacture and leveraging new technologies. Prior to this he spent 30 years working at GSK with his last role there being Senior Device and Packaging Director.

Greg sits on the UK Institute of Materials Packaging Board representing Pharma. He has a B.Sc. in Industrial Design, a M.Sc. in Polymer Science & Engineering and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing.

Sagar Bejalwar, Senior Manager, Global Acute and Specialty Portfolio Marketing at BD Medical - Pharmaceutical Systems

Sagar is a Global Marketing Manager at BD Medical – Pharmaceutical Systems, where his responsibilities include developing prefillable syringe solutions that most closely address drug, product manufacturer and clinician needs. He holds an MBA from Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX, US) and also a

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, India.

Peylina Chu, Vice President, Antea Group and Executive Director, Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council

“I believe in helping companies ‘do good to do well’”. Peylina is a master at helping companies manage the business aspects of Environment, Health, Safety, and Sustainability (EHS&S).

Recognizing that EHS&S management is much more than just compliance, these issues have the potential to seriously disrupt business. Peylina develops fit-for-purpose programs for companies that are proactive, tailored to company-specific risk tolerance levels and incorporated into company culture from the C-suite to the hourly employee. Using her 20+ years of experience with organizational change and technical expertise, she helps companies develop practical solutions that bring meaningful long-term benefits. Peylina is a Registered Professional Engineer and leads the technology market segment at Antea Group. She serves as Executive Director for the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (www.hprc.org) and as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Inogen Environmental Alliance (www.inogenalliance.com), an alliance of global EHS and sustainability consultants.

Dr. Pascale Gauthier, Pharmacist, Faculty of Pharmacy Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne University

Pascale is a pharmacist (research background Masters in Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics) with a PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology. She is in charge of courses at Auvergne University (involved in patents, international publications and conferences) and since 2016, has been a jury member for CPhI and Pharmapack Awards. Her research focused on modified release forms, pharmaceutical design and categories of users, digital health as well as innovative packaging and formulations in cosmetic targets.

Daniele Giorgi, Head of Global Indirect Procurement, Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Daniele has over 15 years’ experience of procurement in Global Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Supply Chain environments. He has held roles with increasing responsibility in multiple locations across Europe. At Abbott Laboratories, he enhanced his procurement expertise and pharmaceutical knowledge while based at a manufacturing plant in Italy, in the divisional offices in London & Dublin and also in the headquarters in Basel. He joined Ferring HQs near Lausanne (CH) at the end of 2013 as Global Category Manager for packaging materials and medical devices; he was

appointed Head of Purchasing, Solids and Packaging Cluster, in February 2017. Daniele was then promoted Director of Product Supply Direct Procurement for all Ferring manufacturing sites in November 2017, overseeing the direct spend with Third Parties and leading the global category managers and business change agents (~20).

From September 2019 to December 2020 he represented the overall Procurement function (Direct and Indirect) at the Leadership Team of Ferring Technical Operations. Since January 2021, Daniele leads Global Indirect Procurement, the largest group in terms of coverage, spend and people in Ferring.

Dr. Nazneen Rahman, Founder and CEO, YewMaker and Director, Sustainable Medicines Partnership

Nazneen has a PhD in Molecular Genetics and is founder and CEO of YewMaker, an action lab that builds, tests and scales evidence-based solutions that make healthcare environmentally and economically sustainable. She is also director at the Sustainable Medicines Partnership, a not-for-profit private-public multi-stakeholder collaboration to execute priority actions to get medicines to more people by minimizing the unnecessary waste of billions of medicines each year. She was previously Head of Genetics and Epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research.

Dr. Sarah Williams, Strategic Programme Manager – AVFC, Centre for Process Innovation (CPI)

Sarah is a Strategic Programmes Manager at CPI, leading the Advanced Vaccines Formulation Capability programme within the Strategy team. She has a background in Materials Science, a PhD in Biotribology and over ten years working in technical delivery of formulation projects across a range of industry sectors. After joining CPI in 2015, Sarah has managed a number of technical delivery teams in formulation characterisation, colloids and materials science as well as being responsible for the delivery of a range of strategic, CR&D and commercial projects for a broad spectrum of industrial partners.