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Pharmaceutical Trends at PACK EXPO 2025: Healthcare Packaging · Through the Line: Packaging and Processing

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Through the Line, a podcast exploring innovations and information across the packaging and processing landscape.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: From topics impacting consumer packaged goods and healthcare packaging to the latest technologies and food processing operations.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the Through the Line podcast.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: Today we're digging into the 2026 Pharmaceutical Innovations Report and using it as a snapshot of where pharmaceutical processing and packaging are headed.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: This is in preparation for PACE International taking place this October in Chicago.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: The report was created from the innovations shown at the event last year, and collectively they tell us about pharmaceutical processing and packaging trends.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Instead of focusing on individual suppliers, we're looking at the themes that are connecting these technologies from flexibility and faster changeovers to smarter equipment, sustainability, cold chain, and increasingly patient-centric packaging.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: Joining me today is Liz Cunio, editor of Healthcare Packaging.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for being here, Liz.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: John, thanks for having me.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, the pleasure is all mine.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_02: Let's start broadly.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: Looking across the innovations in this report, what are they telling us about what pharmaceutical manufacturers are looking for from their packaging equipment today?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you know, the biggest takeaway for me is that pharma manufacturers are being asked to manage complexity.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's a very complex industry, as you are well aware.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: So these manufacturers, they still need throughput, but now they also need the flexibility, fast changeover, precise control, data integrity, easier validation, and of course, intuitive equipment for their operators.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: At the same time, the drug products themselves are becoming more complex.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: We're seeing biologics, injectables, specialty therapies, and products, and these all require cold chain.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: So packaging operation has to become more sophisticated along with the drug portfolio.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: So has that changed now when we talk about a high performance packaging line?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: Is that is that look different now than it may have in the past?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it has.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Historically, we talk about maximum speeds, high speed this, high speed that.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: Today overall equipment effectiveness is much more nuanced.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: A line that can rapidly move between products, reduce cleaning time, automate setup, minimize rejects, and provide useful product production data can potentially deliver more value than just say a flat, a faster line.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess I would always picture pharma as not being something where changeovers would be that important because they'd be running something for a long time of the same product.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: So why have changeovers become so important?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you're right.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Traditionally that has been the case.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: But nowadays, pharma manufacturers are dealing with more SKUs and in many cases smaller batch sizes.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Then you have contract manufacturers that adds another layer because they're serving multiple customers.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: So in pharma, changeover isn't necessarily just changing a guardrail or a part.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: You're dealing with line clearance, cleaning, documentation, of course, potentially cross-contamination concerns and validation.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: So every minute that you can remove from that process can translate into meaningful additional capacity.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: So I know we're seeing things like more toolish changeovers and automated settings.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: How significant is that in the pharma sector?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Very significant because it does two things.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: It saves time, but it also improves repeatability.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Every manual adjustment creates an opportunity for variation.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: If you can store validated recipes and automatically move equipment into the correct position, you're reducing dependence on operator making dozens of individual adjustments correctly.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's really important, especially in a highly regulated environment like Pharma.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: So then let's talk a little bit about operator usability.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: Why are or how are better HMIs and easier machine operation becoming such prominent themes?
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_02: What's driving that?
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's always been a talking point and in various industries as well.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: The workforce situation is always a part of it.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Manufacturers really need equipment that people can learn to operate efficiently, especially with turnover, people retiring.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: We really need to have these machines be able to be friendly for the operators.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: There's also just simply more information available now.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: So operators can't be expected to interpret hundreds of raw data points.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: So a good HMI tells them what they need to know.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: What's happening is something different.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: Is what action should I take place?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: So the goal shouldn't be adding more screens necessarily.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: It should just be making the equipment easier to understand.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, that's fair and fair, and that makes sense.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: We hear that kind of touches on that.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: We hear a lot about more smarter factories and connected factories, smart manufacturing in the packaging space.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_02: Is that something that we're seeing in pharma?
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: Is pharma like maturing in that on that journey, or is that something that hasn't made its way to pharma yet?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what's funny?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: I know we talked about this in our couple of podcasts or videos a couple of weeks ago, that digital transformation idea.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: And that varies significantly from company to company and even facility to facility within the same company.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: The important thing to remember is smart manufacturing doesn't have to mean an autonomous factory.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: So a practical starting point is connecting equipment.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: So manufacturers can understand downtime, monitor performance, capture records electronically, compare production runs and that kind of thing.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: So we're seeing that a lot more in pharma today.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I guess coming from that is going to create the data, and the data is going to become the foundation for I can't believe we made it this far without talking about AI, but here we are.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess that's gonna create some way that AI is gonna make its way into the pharma world.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yes.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: And for all of us, what does AI need?
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: It needs reliable data.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: So before anyone can ask AI to optimize the process, they need to know that they're collecting accurate information.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd argue that some of the less glamorous work happening today, connecting machines, standardizing data, digitizing records, this is really essential groundwork for AI.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that it is.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's always data, is the first thing that everyone kind of jumps in with.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: So is that where you're expecting AI to have an impact, the biggest impact in pharma?
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: Because to me, I have a hard time seeing AI even making it into pharma because of the regulations and stuff like that and the trust of AI.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess where do you, from what you've seen, where do you expect AI to have an impact first?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so there's a couple different areas.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Inspection is one obvious error area because machine learning techniques can help identify subtle visual patterns.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: Predictive maintenance is another.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Rather than servicing equipment strictly according to a schedule, you can potentially identify changes in machine behavior that could indicate a component is beginning to fail and then really intervening at that point.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Process optimization is also interesting.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Overtime systems could identify combinations of settings or environmental conditions associated with higher reject rates or downtime.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: But in pharma, those applications will have to exist within a validated controlled environment.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, okay.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: So I get that that in a as long as they're controlling the AI, it's something that can be used.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I guess we're seeing that kind of across the city.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and they really have to control their data and really have that in in perfect working order for the AI to be able to do what it needs to do.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: All right, then let's turn to sustainability.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: Let's turn to the other big buzzword that we always talk about, which is sustainability.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: But pharma has traditionally been one of the more difficult packaging sectors to move towards recycled materials.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: Why don't you explain to our audience why that is?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a popular topic for sure, and a tricky one because the industry is so highly regulated.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, the package itself has enormous responsibility.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: It may need to protect a drug from moisture, oxygen, light, contamination, physical damage, or temperature changes for several years.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: So you can't compromise that performance simply to improve recyclability.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: If a package fails and a drug has to be discarded, or worse, efficacy is affected, you haven't created a sustainable outcome at all.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: So those are really the top things to consider when looking at sustainable materials.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: So then I guess what can re what realistically can sustainability look like in the pharma world?
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it's often about optimization rather than one dramatic material switch.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: Can we reduce a material is a question to ask.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's can we eliminate an unnecessary component?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Can we move toward a monomaterial structure if performance allows it?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Can we reduce the package size and therefore shipping value?
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: So importantly, it's looking at the whole package and what you can do, little things that really optimize the sustainability of the whole thing.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Another thing that you touched on earlier was the cold chain.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that's a major theme in pharma.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_02: Why does it continue to become why is it continuing to become more important?
• 8:24
  unknown: Yeah.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: So the pharmaceutical pipeline is increasingly populated by biologics, specialty medicines, temperature-sensitive therapies, GLP1s.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: We hear about that all the time.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: These products are extremely valuable and sensitive to temperature excursions, especially when we talk about cancer drugs and other specialty medications, very expensive products.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: So this packaging for those kinds of things is part of product protection, part of that strategy.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: You're not simply preventing a bottle from breaking, you're maintaining the environmental conditions necessary.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: So that's super important.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Cold chain's going to be here in a popular topic for a long time.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I have to think, I guess that does home delivery play into that?
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: Because I know drugs now are delivered right to people's homes.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: So completely different than being sent to a controlled facility like a hospital, right?
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Where you have trained personnel on the other end.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: It comes to someone like our house, you have far less control as the farm manufacturer in the shipping company.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: It might sit outside, a patient may not understand how quickly it needs to go back to refrigeration.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: They may have limited mobility or dexterity.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: So coaching packaging increasingly has to consider patient experience in addition to thermal performance.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess that's kind of a move.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_02: How do we see that impacting sort of that move in general towards more patient-centric packaging?
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's not just your traditional, like you said, where you have to go to a hospital to get something, you have to go somewhere.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: Is that kind of a movement that we're seeing in healthcare packaging in general?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's an interesting one.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: We we see a lot more at-home use for things like test kits or self-auto injector pens and the like.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: So more healthcare is definitely happening outside traditional healthcare environments.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because of that, packaging really does need to consider how a patient can identify the product, open it, understand the instructions, administer it correctly, store it properly, and then dispose of it.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: So those are a lot of considerations.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: And they're really not secondary.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: They directly affect whether the therapy is used correctly.
• 10:16
  unknown: Okay.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: So is this somewhere then that connected packaging could play a role?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: Potentially, yes.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Packaging can provide a bridge between the physical product and digital information.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Think instructions for use, authentication, adherence support, product information, even potentially recall communications.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: But there's challenges there for sure.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: Some of those challenges making sure those features actually solve a patient problem rather than just adding technology simply because it's available.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: We don't want it to be harder and more steps for the patient.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: It truly has to solve a problem.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: Quality has to obviously be important when you're talking about pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: So are we seeing quality control move further into the production process itself?
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: So the goal now is increasingly to detect and correct problems as close as possible to where they occur.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: We we hear more about sensors, vision systems, automated verification, reject tracking, electronic production records, and that all contributes to that.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: So rather than producing a batch and then asking whether it meets quality requirements, the long-term direction is really toward continuously understanding whether that process itself is operating within a validated state.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: So does that mean that equipment suppliers are now playing a larger role in compliance more than they used to be?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'd say yes.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: I say they have a larger role in enabling compliance.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Manufacturers are responsible for their own validated processes, but equipment increasingly needs to support data integrity, audit trails, recipe control, electronic records, inspection, and traceability.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Mechanical engineering and digital engineering are becoming inseparable.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: So if you had to kind of to summarize, we've jumped all over the place, but if you had to boil this entire report down to one sort of overarching theme, what do you think that would be?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: I love that question, Sean.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: So thanks for asking it.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Might say it's really adaptability.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Pharmaceutical manufacturers don't know exactly what their portfolios will look like 10 years from now, as they didn't 10 years ago, know what it would look like today.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: So equipment purchase today, they might not know how they're going to be using it in 10 years.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: So the question becomes can this system adapt to new formats, new data requirements, and new sustainability expectations and new ways of manufacturing.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: So are there any other now that pharmaceutical companies are thinking of making a capital investment?
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: What questions, in addition to what you just said, should they be asking?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'd ask how quickly the equipment can change formats, how much of that changeover is automated and how much is manual?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: What production data does the equipment generate?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: How easy is it to integrate with other existing systems in the facility?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Even how do operators interact with it?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: How easy is it to accommodate future products?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Those kind of future forward-thinking questions.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'd also ask about energy, material efficiency, cleaning, maintenance, and validation.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: In other words, we're not just asking how fast does it run?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: We're asking how effectively will this equipment help us manufacture over its entire useful life.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: I guess to kind of sum up, what trends or trends are you watching more closely over the next three, four, or five years?
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to surprise you by saying it's really a combination of data automation in our favor buzzword AI.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think AI is going to suddenly replace pharmaceutical manufacturing expertise, but I do think we're going to see systems become better at identifying patterns, predicting problems, helping people make better decisions.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: So really the companies that already have good data infrastructure built in place will be the strongest position to take advantage of that.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: That's great.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_02: This was fantastic, Liz.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks a lot.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: The 2026 Pharmaceutical Innovations Report really shows an industry where innovation isn't just about faster equipment.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: Pharma packaging is obviously being asked to become more flexible, more connected, sustainable, operator friendly.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_02: We mentioned patient-centric, all while maintaining extremely high standards.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a difficult engineering challenge, but it's also what makes this such an interesting time for pharmaceutical packaging.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's really interesting stuff.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: So there's going to be a plethora of new solutions for pharma manufacturers at PACE International October 18th through the 21st in Chicago.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: We hope to see you there.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks again for joining us.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Through the Line Packaging and Processing.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can listen to more episodes on all streaming platforms.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to visit us at packworld.com, profoodworld.com, and healthcarepackaging.com for more packaging and processing news.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast was edited by Brady Guns.