Trends in Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Labeling for 2022 and Beyond

Over the past few years, healthcare has become a top priority for consumers and brands alike—driving more demand than we’ve ever seen before. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain shortages and a rise in the counterfeit drug market, the labeling market for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries will likely continue to witness significant growth over the coming years.

However, like many others, this industry faces widespread supply chain challenges. Not only do raw material shortages impact both the healthcare and labeling industries, but the World Health Organization (WHO) states that up to 50% of vaccines are wasted globally each year as a result of improper temperature management in the supply chain.

Below are three labeling trends that will impact these industries in 2022 and beyond:

1. Increasing Demand for Pharmaceutical Labels

Over the past two years, the demand for pharmaceutical packaging products has skyrocketed—and there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon. In fact, a 2020 report by The Freedonia Group revealed that this demand is projected to rise in the U.S. by 5.2% annually to nearly $30 billion in 2024.

This demand has been largely driven by the sudden spike in research and development (R&D) efforts and increasing importance of high-value packaging in order to enhance drug delivery and security. As new vaccines and other drug therapies hit the market, we will continue to see strong growth for pharmaceutical labels.

2. Major Growth of Biologic Drugs

This continued growth of biopharmaceuticals has created new, more complex challenges for the supply chain, as these drugs must be handled within specific conditions—such as cold chain, controlled room temperature and frozen. If these conditions are not maintained at any point in the supply chain, it can impact drug efficacy, result in the loss of shipments and even cause direct harm to patients.

For example, one trend we’ve seen over the past two years is an overwhelming demand for labeling solutions that are ideal for storing, transporting and delivering COVID vaccines and test kits in order to enable healthcare facilities to maintain their quality.

3. Importance of Track and Trace Capabilities

Another big trend in the healthcare and pharmaceutical space is the increasing importance of track-and-trace capabilities to help combat the continued rise of the counterfeit drug market worldwide. In fact, many pharmaceutical companies consider counterfeit drugs to be the biggest threat to their business.

According to the 2021 Drug Diversion Digest report from Protenus, more than 155 million drug doses were lost between 2019 and 2020 as a result of misuse and theft among healthcare employees. In addition, healthcare organizations experienced $275 million in monetary loss due to clinical drug diversions.

Once fully implemented in November 2023, Title II of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act will require all members of the supply chain to use an electronic, interoperable system that tracks a drug at the package level until it reaches the patient. The product identifier must be a standardized graphic in both human-readable format and on a machine-readable data carrier in a 2D data matrix barcode that contains key product data.

By adding track-and-trace capabilities, these labels will facilitate improved documentation, authentication and regulatory compliance for pharmaceutical and other healthcare products—significantly enhancing consumer safety and inventory management.

Want to Incorporate These Trends into Your Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Labeling?

To learn more about our range of healthcare and pharmaceutical labeling solutions, contact our customer service team at (866) 516-7300 or customerservice@idimages.com.