Syringe demonstrates cost benefits of sustainable design

Published: 3-Mar-2010
Packaging Drug Delivery Pharmaceutical

Cambridge Consultants unveils an innovative concept for prefilled syringes, cutting pack volume in half.

Cambridge Consultants has unveiled a novel "green" pre-filled syringe concept called Syreen for the self-administration of medicines.

Instead of glass, Syreen syringes are made from cyclic olefin polymer (COP) plastic, which means there is no need for secondary packaging. The company claims it is a first in this area of medical devices.

The makeup of the Syreen allows syringes to clip together, nesting in a pack, while the COP design doubles as the outer shell of the packaging itself. There is no need, therefore, for fillers such as cardboard and styrofoam, reducing the packaging weight by 30% and volume by 50% compared with standard packaging.

"This marriage of economy and ecology shows that medical device companies will likely see competitive benefits by taking sustainability seriously," said Phil Lever, commercial director, Drug Delivery Devices for pharma technology firm Cambridge Consultants, which has offices in Cambridge in the UK and US.

To use Syreen, the prefilled syringe is simply unclipped and put against the desired area on the skin. After delivery, with a simple snap, the user ejects the needle into the sharps bin, allowing the user to recycle the plastic capsule.

Patient safety is further increased because the COP plastic syringe features a curved surface over the needle that, while keeping the syringe from rolling and reducing needle-stick accidents, also ensures overall stability and depth control during injection. With separated plunger and stopper, the design also makes it impossible to take in blood or other contaminants, reducing the risk of cross infection.

Cambridge Consultants is currently seeking to develop the Syreen concept with large pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical packaging companies.

See more

You may also like

Manufacturing

MIT spinout designs gentle process for billions of engineered cells in minutes

Read more
Kytopen has engaged Cambridge Consultants to co-develop the first Flowfect system using continuous fluid flow combined with electric fields

Trending Articles

  1. SCIEX expands integrated software ecosystem with six mass spectrometry workflow collaborations The firm has announced six software collaborations designed to unify instrument control, data processing and compliance within a single analytical environment, with more partnerships set to be revealed at ASMS 2026
  2. Backed by investments exceeding $1 billion, PCI Pharma Services announces major expansion of US sterile fill-finish and drug-device delivery combination capabilities As pharma manufacturers prioritise US supply chain resilience, highlights include high-speed isolator filling lines for prefilled syringes, cartridges and vials, and drug-device combination assembly and packaging
  3. SGS launches GMP-compliant NMR testing for Chinese pharma industry The inspection and certification specialist will now offer nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) testing for analysis of both drug substances and drug products across China
  4. Amarox recalls sertraline batch after citalopram blister strips found inside sealed cartons The MHRA has issued a class two recall of one batch of Amarox's sertraline 100 mg film-coated tablets following a secondary packaging error that resulted in citalopram 40 mg blister strips being included in sealed cartons
  5. New Romaco Maximus 400 tablet coater at interpack Ideal for pharmaceutical coatings with a very large weight gain

Upcoming event

CHEMUK 2026

20–21 May 2026 | Conference and Exhibition | Birmingham, UK See all

You may also like

Manufacturing

MIT spinout designs gentle process for billions of engineered cells in minutes

Kytopen has engaged Cambridge Consultants to co-develop the first Flowfect system using continuous fluid flow combined with electric fields
You need to be a subscriber to read this article.
Click here to find out more.
Research & Development

Synthetic biology: engineering the future

That synthetic biology will become the next big engineering discipline in the 21st century is clearly quite a claim. Is there any justification to support this statement?
You need to be a subscriber to read this article.
Click here to find out more.
Packaging

Aspirations for better pack design

As manufacturers look to provide treatments for the long-term management of increasingly complex diseases and medical conditions, Cambridge Consultants discusses the role of design in meeting the needs of an ageing population and the trend towards self-medication by patients at home
Drug Delivery

Cambridge Consultants teams up with Novartis and Owen Mumford

To develop auto-injector for MS patients
Drug Delivery

New inhaler delivers more drug to the deep lung

High performance, easy to use dry powder inhaler does not depend on breath intake strength
Drug Delivery

Hovione and IDC open intranasal dry powder drug delivery platform for commercial partnerships

Hovione and IDC have made their integrated intranasal drug delivery platform available for commercial partnerships, combining API development, particle engineering, drug product manufacturing and a single-use nasal dry powder device to accelerate development and scale-up
Pharmaceutical

Ardena strengthens executive team to drive its next phase of growth

Ghent, Belgium, 4 May 2026 – Ardena, a specialist pharmaceutical CDMO and bioanalytical CRO enabling precision medicines and other complex therapies, announces the appointments of Ben Ash as Chief Financial Officer and Henny Zijlstra as Chief Commercial Officer. These additions further strengthen Ardena’s executive leadership team as the company continues to scale its operations and commercial reach globally
Subscribe now