Pharmapack Europe organised by Informa Markets, will take place next week at the Porte De Versailles in Paris (5-6 February, 2020).

The event has pinpointed a number of opportunities and threats that drug delivery and pharmaceutical packaging companies must address in 2020.

This year’s conference agenda provides a window into the biggest developments likely to impact the industry in the year ahead. Trends at this year’s Pharmapack include digital value-added medicines, increased need for waste management, formulation triggering device development in biologics and the use of blockchain.

2020 marks the event’s 23rd successful year, and over its lifetime, it has grown in size, profile and popularity from a bi-annual event to a major annual show that attracts over 5,500 visitors and 400+ exhibitors from more than 75 countries worldwide.

One key session generating significant interest amongst delegates is the connectivity and patient centricity session. Aurelio Arias, Senior Consultant, European Thought Leadership at IQVIA, will discuss the role devices have on Value Added Medicines (VAM) and how patient centricity and good product design on transforming the perception of medical devices – which are now integral to many patient therapies.

In a year when the industry has begun exploring the full life cycle impact of medicines, the agenda will explore everything from a collaborative value chain approach to enabling plastic recycling. These themes, as well as a talk around recovering and managing waste generated by used medicines, will be discussed in a sustainability panel chaired by Gregor Anderson, Managing Director at Pharmacentric Solutions.

In the biologics space, Pharmapack speakers will discuss the global outlook of biologics and biosimilars as well as the complexities of delivering a biologic drug to market.

Biologics are having a significant impact on device development and Christian Dechant, Director of Primary Packaging Development Biologicals, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals at Boehringer Ingelheim, will discuss how formulation is triggering device development within the space.

The event will also explore the challenge in bridging the development gap between clinical and commercial applications as the number of innovators increase within the market. Harmonising the creative work of small players and the complexity of large, highly regulated markets and increasingly complicated therapeutic systems will be a major challenge in the industry in 2020.