Injection Devices
PACKAGING SOLUTIONS - Dura Coat Combiseals - An Optimal Solution for Cartridge Applications
Carina Van Eester, MSCE, believes with state-of-the-art medicines, it is essential that drug manufacturers can rely on appropriate sealing solutions that provide the best possible protection for their products.
WEARABLE DEVICES - Wearable Drug Delivery Applications: Considerations for Adhesive Material Selection & Wear Testing
Neal Carty, PhD, MBA, and Deepak Prakash, MS, MBA, discuss the broader healthcare and digital health landscape behind wearable device developments and provide a brief overview of two types of wearable applications — insulin pump therapy/continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems and wearable drug injectors.
Dance Biopharm Presents Phase 2 Clinical Data Highlighting Rapid Effects of Inhaled Human Insulin
Dance Biopharm Holdings, Inc., recently presented data from its Phase 2 clinical study of Dance 501, a novel gentle mist formulation of human insulin administered with its….
Bellerophon Receives Orphan Drug Designation
Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. recently announced the US FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation to nitric oxide for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). IPF…
Sanofi & Abbott Partner, Changing the Way Diabetes is Managed
Sanofi and Abbott are partnering to integrate glucose sensing and insulin delivery technologies that would help to further simplify how people with diabetes……
SPECIAL FEATURE - Injection Devices: Wearables, Connectivity & Patient-Centric Designs Empower Self-Administration
Contributor Cindy H. Dubin highlights the innovation in injection devices – from wearables to connectivity to varied dose administration – that have occurred in the past year.
Hovione Signs Collaboration Agreement With Kiel University on High-Dose Dry Powder Inhalation Delivery
Hovione Technology recently announced it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Kiel University, Institute of Pharmacy in Germany, a reference research institution on inhaled drug delivery.
Gerresheimer Expands the Gx RTF ClearJect Product Line
Gerresheimer recently announced it is expanding its range of prefillable polymer syringes to include a new product: the Gx RTF ClearJect polymer needle syringe, 2.25 ml. Like the 1.0 ml syringe, this syringe will be……..
DEVICE DESIGN - Autoinjector Design Adjustment to Control Needle Insertion & Initial Injection Speed – Could This Positively Impact Drug Delivery?
Pascal Dugand, Thomas Megard, and Séverine Duband explain how controlling the needle insertion speed can reduce the shock on the prefilled syringe, which can reduce the risk of glass breakage, and will allow a smooth transition to syringe emptying.
BIOLOGICS DELIVERY - Enabling Biologic Drug Delivery of Volumes Beyond 1 mL
Megan Lan, MBA, MA, and Patrick Le Gal say delivery system manufacturers need to use methodologies and tools to manage conflicting requirements and to offer delivery solutions that balance performance, robustness, and usability while delivering higher volume or viscosity biologics.
Creating Your Secondary Packaging Strategy - Begin With the End in Mind
Whether it is meeting the needs of a rapidly aging market, blocking drug counterfeiters, or differentiating your pharmaceutical product in the market, a secondary packaging program is an important factor in………
2019 Respiratory Drug Development eBook - Increased Focus on Respiratory Drug & Device Development Makes Treatment More Personal
This e-Book highlights some of the innovators and innovations in the respiratory sector, addresses the importance of end users in the device development process, and presents recent advancements in improving patient adherence.
Double Chamber Prefilled Syringes Market Likely to be Driven by Growing Requirement of Highly Efficient Parental Drug Delivery Modes
A new study on Double Chamber Prefilled Syringes, opines global double chamber prefilled syringes market to grow at a CAGR of 9% during the forecast period. Over…
Enable Injections Enters Strategic Partnership With Sanofi
Enable Injections, Inc. recently announced it has entered into a multi-product development agreement with Sanofi S.A.
PARENTERAL DEVELOPMENT - Considerations in Developing Complex Parenteral Formulations
Iain MacGilp, PhD, says the path to delivering stable, apparently simple solution, suspension, or emulsion formulations is multi-faceted and requires a constant focus on key control measures through pre-formulation development to commercialization.
DEVICE DESIGN - Quality-by-Design Approach to Enable High-Dose Drug Delivery With Autoinjectors
Patrick Le Gal explains how his company deployed a quality by design approach to manage all the unavoidable competing requirements and to propose a solution that balances performance, robustness, and usability.
Japan’s Medical Device Market Set to Reach $74.7 Billion in 2025
The Japanese medical device market is set to reach from $54.5 billion in 2018 to $74.7 billion in 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6% says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Braun Medical Uses Needle-Trap from Schreiner MediPharm for New Prefilled Heparin Syringe
Schreiner MediPharm has collaborated with B. Braun Medical Inc. who recently launched its prefilled syringe of Heparin Sodium Injection, USP utilizing Schreiner MediPharm’s label-integrated Needle-Trap…
SPECIAL FEATURE - Prefilled Syringes & Parenteral Manufacturing: Flexibility for Faster Development
Contributor Cindy H. Dubin interviews several contract manufacturers and device developers who are responsible for creating next-generation parenteral drug delivery.
Enesi Pharma & BARDA Drive Enter Public-Private Partnership to Develop Solid Dose Vaccine Delivery Technology
Enesi Pharma recently announced it has entered a public-private partnership with the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s (BARDA) DRIVe (Division of Research, Innovation,…
What are Injection Devices?
Drug delivery devices are the physical agents that are included in the drug delivery system. There are a multitude of devices that people interact with every day which fall under this category. In modern pharmaceuticals, novel drug delivery devices and combination products are being designed for a number of reasons, including giving patients the ability to self-administer some medications at home, which can help them adhere to recommended regimens.
Evolution of Injection Devices
With modern technology and medicine, the combination product market is evolving. Any combination device, especially drug device combination devices, must follow strict guidelines. Thanks to advancements in engineering, an increasing number of drug delivery devices are being developed as electromechanical devices linked to apps in order to provide patients with more supervision when administering medications at home. Some of these medical apps may receive feedback from the device to track how much drug is being administered and how often, provide patients with dosing reminders and connect clinicians with this information so they can monitor patient compliance. The drug delivery devices that so many patients depend on must adhere to regulatory standards. There are strict guidelines for all methods of drug delivery, such as needle-based, aerosol, and needle-free injectors.
Smart devices, interconnectivity, and related technology provide real-time data to healthcare providers for analysis, but these device additions should not increase risks, including patient understanding of treatment delivery, or jeopardize compliance. Data collection needs to be “passive” to the patient. In other words, invisible to the patient’s use of the device so that the collected data provides a true benefit to the end user. If these design considerations can be implemented without impacting the patient or how they administer and receive treatment, then smart devices can provide advantages to the patient and the industry.
Injection Device Global Market Trends
The global injectable drug delivery devices market is expected to show significant growth in the coming years as manufacturers introduce technological advancements and product innovation meant to improve convenience, compliance, and ease of administration of parenterals. Additionally, the increasing preference for at-home self-injection is driving the market as patients prefer to continue to avoid healthcare settings post-COVID. With all of this taken into account, one market study predicts the global market to reach almost $26 billion by 2025, up from $15 billion in 2020. However, another report values the global market at $42.76 billion in 2021 and expects it to reach $50.9 billion in 2025.
How the numbers will play out is yet to be determined, but the studies do highlight the focus on single-use and reusable systems. Disposable-use prefilled syringes (PFS) are increasingly used due to the prevalence of chronic diseases and the growing number of biologics best delivered by syringes. Single-use autoinjectors are also poised to experience increased demand, particularly with the growing pervasiveness of anaphylaxis disorders. Autoinjectors also provide a convenient alternative to manual syringe injections for subcutaneous administration.
Reusable Injection Devices
Pen injectors with prefilled cartridges have also proven to be a viable alternative to syringes. These injectors can perform hundreds of injections, with patients controlling the speed of delivery to minimize pain or discomfort during use.
Making injection devices partially reusable is a cost-saving strategy. Ideally, the device’s mechanism and/or electronics are the reusable parts of the system – as these are often the costliest – and the drug containers and needle are one-time use.
Another cost-saving strategy that several large pharmaceutical companies are deploying is to develop a device platform for multiple drug products in their portfolio. This allows them to spend resources on a single significant development program, for one optimal injection device, which then requires minimal customization for each sub-sequent product line.
Despite efforts to make better, safer, simpler injection devices, patient adherence is still a challenge associated with self-administration. This has resulted in the emergence of smart devices, such as wearable injectors, which share patient data with healthcare providers to ensure compliance. And while it is expected this sector will continue to grow, some industry insiders warn against making these devices too intrusive.