How’s your investment portfolio performing? My 401K took a beating in early 2016. In late February, the Bloomberg Business' “Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences” sector, made up of 287 companies, was already down 11.98% for the year.
Automation World Senior Editor Stephanie Neil’s recent story, “The Fate of Pharma,” noted that the pharmaceutical industry is under pressure—from high drug/R&D costs to market consolidation to regulatory scrutiny to time-to-market stresses. Neil reported that big data, the Internet of things and automation can help industry. So too can packaging materials and machinery.
In a down market there’s added financial pressure to cut costs, yet doing so with packaging could risk patient safety and regulatory non-compliance.
When a stock, or a market sector, or the market as a whole is down, many investors see it as a time to buy and accumulate shares at a low price, then reap the benefits of additional shares when the market heads northward.
This year’s uncertain market may present a similar opportunity for manufacturers within various industries to invest in packaging materials, machinery and processes. It’s a good way to position yourself to gain future business when the needle moves up. Such investments can help improve patient safety, comply with regulations and market your innovative pharmaceutical, medical device and biologic products.
