Sterile Medical Packaging Demand to Reach $4.4 Billion in 2010: Study

Comprising more than 22 billion units, sterile medical-packaging demand in the US is expected to grow 6.0 percent a year to reach $4.4 billion in 2010, says a new study by Cleveland-based market researcher The Freedonia Group, Inc.

Sterile medical trays and pouches will post below-average gains but will remain important segments, combining for demand of more than $1 billion in 2010. Pouch sales will grow from $415 million last year to $515 million or about 4.4 percent annually.

Improved strength, puncture resistance and barrier protection properties will keep sterile pouches the leading container for medium- to large-sized medical and dental devices and supplies, Freedonia says, including catheters and related tubing apparatus, face masks and IV administration sets. Cost advantages will continue to favor the use of pouches over thermoformed trays in these applications. Plastic bags will remain the leading competitive container to pouches in the packaging of large medical supplies and devices with lower barrier protection requirements.

Sales of sterilization wrap will climb from $340 million in 2005 to $420 million in 2010—rising about 4.3 percent a year, Freedonia predicts.

Plastic resins—particularly polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene and thermoplastic polyesters—will continue to dominate the market for sterile packaging raw materials. Among other materials, foil will command the largest revenues, spurred by widening uses in trays and blister-pack lidding.