The packaging industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation. Activity is driven by urbanisation, sustainability, safety & trust, and convenience, and growing importance of technologies such as sustainable/eco-friendly packaging, active packaging, near field communication (NFC), and bluetooth low energy. In the last three years alone, there have been over 310,000 patents filed and granted in the packaging industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Robotics in Packaging: Vial Filling & Sealing Conveyors.

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 87,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the packaging industry, there are 80+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Vial filling & sealing conveyors is a key innovation area in robotics 

The vial filling and sealing machine is used in the pharmaceutical industry to fill medicinal contents into the vials and perform the function of sealing the top of the vial with rubber stoppers.    

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 30+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established packaging companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of vial filling & sealing conveyors. 

Key players in vial filling & sealing conveyors – a disruptive innovation in the packaging industry 

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators. 

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’. 

Patent volumes related to vial filling & sealing conveyors

Amgen is one of the leading patent filers in vial filling & sealing conveyors. Amgen recently announced its plans to construct a new pharmaceutical product assembly and packaging unit in New Albany, Ohio, US. The unit will be used to assemble and pack vials and syringes that will support the company’s increasing demand for medicines. Some other key patent filers in the space include F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Danaher, Sanofi, and Robert Bosch Stiftung. 

In terms of application diversity, Sanofi leads the pack. Amgen and Becton Dickinson stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Pfizer held the top position, followed by Vetter & Co Apotheker and Sanofi. 

Vial filling & sealing conveyors will gain popularity in the pharmaceutical packaging market with players in the industry using this technology for the safety and integrity of their products. 

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the packaging industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Packaging.

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.