Many of today’s newer pharmaceutical formulas require more stringent moisture, light or oxygen protection. Many formulas also are becoming more potent, leading to demand for metered dosing in small tube diameters for low (yet powerful) fill volumes. Here, small high-barrier tubes offer attractive user-friendliness and can diminish overpackaging by eliminating the need for secondary packaging such as pouches and barrier blisters. They can also provide increased safety through simplicity; the fewer “moving parts” a package has, the lower the likelihood of accidental misuse by end users.
Looking at the larger picture, it’s interesting to note that, according to MarketsandMarkets (marketsandmarkets.com), the worldwide tube packaging market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.9 percent during the forecast period of 2016 to 2021, approaching $9.3 billion by 2021.