Pharmaceutical Machines Set for Further Growth

May 29, 2014

The German manufacturers of machines and systems for pharmaceutical production regard themselves as the technology leaders within the worldwide competition. And this strong technical position is the foundation for the growth of the industry.

“The industry is well on its way to further growth,” explained Richard Clemens, Managing Director of the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association at the VDMA interpack press conference in Düsseldorf on 7 May. “The investment needs for biotechnically produced, highly active drugs remain high. Despite significant development of capacities, the average order backlog can be more than 10 months in these sectors. Manufacturers of machines for traditional types of drugs such as tablets continue to benefit from the continuously growing demand for drugs in the so-called ‘pharmerging countries’ and from the ageing population in the classic industrial nations.” 

In the current spring survey about the economic situation in the industry, the members provided a rather balanced evaluation of the regions in long-term comparison. The “pharmerging countries” – including the BRIC states as well as Mexico and Turkey – have become increasingly important to the industry over the past years. But the “traditional” regions Germany, Western Europe and North America were also evaluated positively in long-term comparison. The VDMA member companies are generally expecting a stable business situation in these regions.

There are no reliable data available for the industry. The VDMA estimates the German production volume of machines and systems for the pharmaceutical industry at around 1.5 billion Euro. The global market volume is given as six to seven billion Euro.

Source: PackagingEurope