In pharma, the last mile isn’t a pharmacy; it’s the device in a patient’s hand. At Pharmapack 2025 in Paris, that last mile gets a sustainability makeover and a firmware update. The event—Jan 22–23 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles—is where packaging engineers, device designers and regulatory leads agree on what actually ships this year.
Three currents to watch
1) The sustainability mandate moves from slideware to tooling. Expect lifecycle assessments on every booth, but the interesting bit is design for disassembly and mono‑material choices that keep dose accuracy while reducing incineration. Recyclability claims will be challenged by hospital waste pathways; the leaders are designing for local waste realities, not just lab tests.
2) Connected delivery gets pragmatic. Smart caps and auto‑injectors are shedding bloated apps in favor of standards‑based data pushes into EHRs and specialty‑pharmacy systems. Think adherence proof for payers, not consumer dashboards. The best UX often looks invisible.
3) High‑viscosity biologics meet at‑home convenience. Expect on‑body injectors and warmed cartridges targeting 1–5 mL at higher viscosities. Mechanical reliability, needle safety and alarm logic are the battlegrounds.
Regulation: the combo‑product squeeze
With MDR/IVDR now real, design teams are aligning risk management files with SaMD playbooks. Change‑control for firmware, cyber bills of materials, and UDI traceability are table stakes. If your Post‑Market Surveillance (PMS) plan doesn’t include real‑world device telemetry, it’s outdated.
Supply chain reality check
Polymer availability, sterilization capacity (EtO, gamma) and accelerated aging validation are still long poles in the tent. The quiet winners are the contract partners who pre‑reserve sterilization slots and run in‑line vision that halves complaint rates.
What’s likely to ship in the next 12 months
- Reusable auto‑injector platforms with disposable cartridges for chronic indications.
- Unit‑dose inhalers with simpler actuation and dose‑tracking built into the label.
- Connected pill packs that push anonymous adherence data for outcomes contracts.
Dates & venue confirmed: Jan 22–23, 2025, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles (Hall 7.2) with staged access times by pass type.
Dr Nisha Money is a reporter at Agora Media specializing in health, defense, emerging technologies.
