Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) Packaging Services in Healthcare Market By Product Type (Bottles, Vials, Ampoules, and Pre-filled Syringes & Injectable), By Material Type (Polypropylene and Polyethylene (High-density Ethylene and Low-density Ethylene)) and by Region - Global and Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, and Forecasts 2022-2030

Industry Perspective

The global Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) Packaging Services in Healthcare Market size were worth around USD 520.3 million in 2021 and are predicted to grow around USD 1,067.2 million by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of roughly 8.5% between 2022 and 2030.

The increasing demand from the pharmaceutical industry to improve the safety of medical products is fostering business growth. The popularity and development of aseptic packaging technology provide lucrative opportunities for market development over the forecast period.

Market Overview

Blow-fill-seal technology has received enormous market attention in recent years due to the growing interest in biologics, proteins, and blow-fill-seal technology. The growing interest in biologics and proteins boosted the market during the forecast period. The demand for package-type blow-fill-seal equipment such as ampoules, vials, bottles, and pre-filled syringes is expected to be influenced by factors such as the increasing demand for aseptic packaging in the pharmaceutical industry.

Significant improvements in healthcare blow-fill-seal packaging technology reduce human intervention, reduce airborne-microbial load, particle levels, and safety, and reduce patient exposure, which has increased significantly by improving safety. These different types of products often use bulk sterilization, gamma irradiation sterilization, or filter sterilization followed by direct packaging using the blow-fill-seal method. The demand for the blow-fill-seal packaging services market is expected to rise as a result of the equipment's unique capacity to pack pharmaceuticals in formulations in a clean, sterile environment without the need for human interaction.

Key Insights

• As per the analysis, the global blow-fill-seal packaging services in the healthcare market is estimated to grow annually at a CAGR of around 8.5% over the forecast period (2022-2030) and is projected to USD 1,067.2 million, by 2030. Due to a variety of driving factors, the market is predicted to rise at a significant rate.
• Based on product, the bottles segment dominated the market share in the year 2021
• Based on material type, the Polyethylene (PE) segment showcased the largest market share in the year 2021
• On the basis of region, North America accounted largest market share in the year 2021

Growing Demand in Pharmaceuticals to Improve Safety to Augment Market Growth

The increasing number of pharmaceutical manufacturers employing advanced sterilizing to minimize operator participation and the risk of contamination when packaging liquid drugs. It is a favored product for medicine packaging since it has advantages including reduced space needs, increased substance inventory, flexible packaging, cheap operating costs, assurance of a high level of sterility, and minimal labor requirements. Additionally, with advancements in BFS technology, the packaging is possible for a wider variety of containers, including ionic liquid and sports drink bottles, vials with inserted tips or caps, eyewash and contact lens solution bottles, multi-dose use containers, twist-off reclosable vials, and bottles for eyewash and contact solution.

Further, improved sealing and leak proofing have been made possible by blow-fill-seal technology which is anticipated to fuel market growth as it can further minimize the time and material needed for secondary packaging in pharmaceutical industries. The increased adoption is further accelerated by investments in R&D efforts among manufacturers to advance technologies in the global blow-fill-seal packaging services market in healthcare. The introduction of new blow-fill-seal (BFS) packaging manufacturing facilities in the healthcare industry can further boost market expansion.

High Capital Cost of BFS Equipment Hindering the Market Growth

BFS products require an abundance of capital for establishing a BFS technology factory. BFS technology demands cutting-edge technologies and a regulated environment to pack products aseptically. Small manufacturers are reluctant to invest because they lack the capital necessary for large initial investments. Long-term enterprises with strong investment capacity are entering the market as significant returns are expected. Manufacturers are hence less inclined to make investments in this technology, lowering upstream market demand.

Government regulations on single-use plastic can also have an impact on the growth of BFS-produced objects such as bottles, and vials. However, sterilization of containers is not required in this method, which makes it cost-effective and, hence, strengthens the growth of products manufactured by the BFS technique.

Proliferating Demand from the Aseptic Packaging Industry to Drive Market Growth

Pharmaceutical companies are constantly coming up with new ways to improve their products, some of these innovations directly affect packaging, such as anti-counterfeiting measures, plasma impulse chemical vapor deposition (PICVD) coating technology, and several others. The blow-fill-seal procedure is a reliable, cutting-edge method of aseptic processing that is known for its inherent advantages over traditional aseptic production.

A special mix of high sterility assurance, packaging design flexibility, and minimal operating costs, and is delivered by blow-fill-seal systems. The devices are relatively space-efficient and therefore only require a minimal number of operators. Aseptic packaging is also utilized in oral, respiratory, ophthalmic, prefilled syringes, and injectable drugs.

Segmentation Analysis

The product segment is classified into bottles, ampoules, vials, prefilled syringes, and others. The vial segment dominates the market share as the urgent need to develop vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19 patients has driven the rapid growth of the prefilled syringe industry and the development of syringe filling and filling activities.

Based on product type, healthcare blow-fill-seal (BFS) packaging services dominate the bottle segment, where manufacturers process plastic granules into bottles, aseptically cap the bottles, and fill liquid products into the bottles with all applicable FDA regulations and can be filled with volumes ranging from 0.4 mL to unit doses such as 1000 mL.

Based on material type, healthcare blow fill seal (BFS) packaging services are divided into polypropylene and polyethylene. The polyethylene segment is further branched by high-density ethylene and low-density ethylene. The polyethylene segment is the dominating segment as it can effectively reduce the contamination of the environment, human operation, and materials which meets the needs of the aseptic manufacturing process in various fields of an aseptic liquid preparation of PET bottles.

It is widely applied to polyethylene segments which offer advantages such as high density and excellent melt strength. This includes the potential for thinner wall thicknesses while maintaining a high water vapor barrier. The higher purity of newer polyethylene is suitable for manufacturing IV bottles. Rapid sales growth is expected in the polyethylene category due to increased demand for improved blow-fill-seal (BFS) products used in the manufacture of syringes, vials, and other products.

In addition, BFS technology enables the continuous and controlled formation, and filling of unit dose liquid packs for aseptic packaging of ophthalmic drugs, respiratory treatments (inhaled), biologics, vaccines, and other injectable therapeutics. and hermeticity, increasing demand for BFS products.

• For instance, in April 2021, New Vision Pharmaceuticals developed a blow-fill-seal package to provide single-use diagnostic reagents for use in his COVID-19 test kits for antibodies and antigens. Manufactured and packaged using the latest blow-fill-seal (BFS) technology conveniently.

Recent Development

October 2022- Recipharm has strengthened its sterile filling capabilities by investing in Lab+ technology for low-volume blow-fill-seal (BFS) filling at its Kaysersberg, France facility to streamline the technical transfer procedure and enhance flexibility.

January 2021- SK Capital Partners LP acquired the blow-fill-seal aseptic contract development and manufacturing business from Catalent Pharma Solutions, LLC. The company is focusing on expanding key areas by having customers help manufacture oral, inhaled, and biologics and advancing a portfolio of emerging modalities such as cell and gene therapies.

Regional Landscape

North America is Dominating the Market Share Due to the Presence of Major Players

North America's market accounted for a substantially high revenue share in 2021 owing to the presence of reputable pharmaceutical businesses and the preference for sanitary and secure packaging to prevent contamination are driving forces contributing to the region. Customized and automated solutions are growing enormously, especially in developing nations. The pharmaceutical business in North America is highly developed and has seen an increase in demand for pharmaceuticals produced from biotechnology and novel bioproduction formats.

Small-scale and more varied production methods are needed for these specialty medications. Several of the novel biologics require unique manufacturing methods; therefore, blow-fill seal technology offers producers adaptable filling options to accommodate various batch sizes. This is a significant shift from traditional contract facilities, which would typically concentrate on a single or a small number of items.

Competitive Landscape

Major players operating in the blow-fill-seal packaging services in healthcare industry include Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Syntegon Technology GmbH, SK Capital Partners, Horizon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Asept Pak, Inc., Sealed Air Corporation, Plastion Industries, Inc., Oliver-Tolas Healthcare Packaging B.V., Rusoma Laboratories Private Limited, Graniten, Aarna Healthcare, Recipharm AB, amongst others.

By Product Type

• Bottles
• Vials
• Ampoules
• Pre-filled Syringes & Injectable

By Material Type

• Polypropylene
• Polyethylene
  • High-density Ethylene
  • Low-density Ethylene

By Region

• North America
  • The U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • France
  • The UK
  • Spain
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Nordic countries
    • Denmark
    • Finland
    • Iceland
    • Sweden
    • Norway
  • Benelux Reunion
    • Belgium
    • The Netherlands
    • Luxembourg
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • New Zealand
  • Australia
  • South Korea
  • Southeast Asia
    • Indonesia
    • Thailand
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • Rest of Southeast Asia
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• The Middle East & Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Egypt
  • Kuwait
  • South Africa
  • Rest of the Middle East & Africa
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Rest of Latin America