New device will improve drug delivery for haemophiliacs

A new syringe system developed by medical engineers at UK-based Cambridge Consultants (CCL) offers the potential to improve the delivery performance of reconstituted drugs such as Factor VIII and Human Growth Hormone by up to 10%. With a typical injection costing US$1,000 (€992), the new device offers significant cost savings to the pharmaceutical industry.

Many devices currently on the market require either the patient or medical worker to successfully negotiate a multistage process to reconstitute the drug from its freeze-dried state. This process increases both the chance for needlestick injuries and the potential to denature the drug through inefficient mixing.

CCL's new two-part syringe design overcomes these drawbacks by incorporating both the drug and the diluent in one syringe, and by employing an innovative mechanical process that allows reconstitution to take place only in the right sequential order while the needle remains sheathed.

By coming as a pre-loaded solution, the new design guarantees correct ratio of both drug and diluent. Furthermore, manufacturing of the device follows the path favoured by the industry, the parts only coming together before distribution to the user.

'The market currently suffers with a lot of low-grade injection solutions,' said Duncan Bishop, who led the development team at CCL. 'These are either open to misuse by people getting the reconstitution process wrong or involve an unnecessarily high risk of needlestick injuries. Given the cost of drugs such as Growth Hormone or other emerging biotech drugs, there is no justification for poor engineering. Our proposed solution overcomes these drawbacks and still allows the industry to use standard manufacturing techniques.'