The pharmaceutical business unit of the German giant Körber has snapped up the compatriot label and leaflet supplier Wilhelm Bähren GmbH & Co as the pharmaceutical packaging market is set to double in the coming decade.
Körber’s pharmaceutical segment offers products to store and transport drug products, including folding boxes, sustainable packaging and secure boxes to deter tampering, counterfeiting, and unsupervised use by children.
Körber’s decision to take over the third-generation family-owned business, which is subject to regulatory approval, will let customers access supplies of boxes, labels and leaflets as part of Körber’s portfolio.
Progress driven by digitization
Bähren’s focus on offering the highest good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards “fits perfectly to our own DNA and therefore supports our aspiration to be the first choice for our customers,” said Joachim Hoeltz, CEO Packaging Materials in the Körber Business Area Pharma, in a public release.
Bähren managing directors Stefan Bisping and Swen Eschmann added that their firm has been growing since 2006 with its progress driven by factors including the digitization and automation of its systems.
Earlier this year, Körber also strengthened an existing partnership with Franz Ziel, acquiring a minority share in the process. Franz Ziel is a family-run provider of aseptic process equipment for the manufacturing of medicines.
The global market for pharmaceutical packaging was valued at $132 billion in 2023 and is expected to shoot up by 15.4% per year, doubling to $269.9 billion in 2028, with main drivers including growing health spending and increasing concerns about chronic diseases. Some of the main players in the space include Berry Global of the US, Gerresheimer of Germany and the Swiss company Amcor.
Pharmaceutical packaging booming
Pharmaceutical packaging companies have been involved in other acquisition deals this year, including the takeover of the primary packaging player Heinlein Plastik-Technik by the ALPLA Group and the acquisition of the packaging machinery and packaging materials divisions of Sarong by IMA Group.
As the packaging space of the pharmaceutical industry swells over the coming years, there has been an increasing focus on sustainability in packaging, nutraceutical and holistic approaches to improving health, and tackling counterfeit drugs, leading to increasing uses of anti-tampering modifications to packaging.
