For many pharmaceutical businesses, drug packaging is an afterthought. It’s something that’s considered once a medication or therapy has been through multiple trials and levels of approval for use.

However, Manufacturing Chemist recently suggested that it would be sensible for pharmaceutical companies to start thinking about their pharma packaging solutions during the drug development process.

The article pointed out that, in some cases, proper planning could have prevented issues with a product that is caused by the packaging it’s put in.

It also highlighted the two main trends that are currently influencing pharma packaging solutions. Firstly is the rise of more specialised medication. This means smaller production runs as they are needed by fewer patients as they are more targeted.

The second is the need to keep many new medications refrigerated or frozen. Failure to do this can affect the efficacy of the medicine. This has implications not only for the packaging itself, but also the wider storage and shipping of a product that needs to be transported in a temperature-controlled environment.

There can also be merits to examining the packaging of your current drugs too. Businesses should “look at how to optimise the packaging to increase quality compliance and the financial success of a product”, the news provider stated.

Transporting medication that needs to be kept refrigerated or frozen could become more challenging in the event of a no-deal Brexit at the end of March. However, health secretary Matt Hancock recently stated that medicine would be prioritised over food should supply chains be disrupted.