Trends and Recent Advances in Injector Technology for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Mats Persson

SHL Group AB
Box 1240, Augustendalsvägen 19, SE-131 28 Nacka Strand, Sweden
Tel: +46 705 675 180 Email: Mats.Persson@shlgroup.se

Biography

Mats Persson, Vice President Europe for SHL’s Medical Division in SHL Group. He has long-time experience from marketing and sales of injectors, inhalers and pharmaceuticals for inhalation.
Mats is responsible for business development within Scandinavian Health Ltd, one of the leading developers and manufacturers of injectors and other medical devices. SHL Group is a private company and Mats Persson is a part owner and member of the Executive Board.

Company Profile

SHL, one of the leading global developer and manufacturer of drug delivery systems such as injectors and inhalers.

Abstract

Starting just after the millennium shift the trend regarding the use of auto-injectors in the treatment of chronic diseases started to shift significantly. With the introduction of chronic injection treatment for patients in home settings the need for safe, inexpensive and easy to use injectors grew very fast. In therapeutic areas like diabetes, RA, MS, Hepatitis C, anaemia etc. new injectors, especially auto-injectors with few handling steps have been introduced and many more will be introduced very soon.

One of the most important messages to convey to a partner and customer is that the injector is part of a SYSTEM. The SYSTEM consists of the following parts; The Formulation (liquid, lyophilized, gel), the Primary Package (pre-filled syringe, cartridge, etc), the Siliconization of the primary package and the Injector. The work to reach a successful product entering the market is a teamwork between the different partners delivering the SYSTEM.

Many new pharmaceuticals can’t be formulated as liquid solutions depending on e.g. stability issues. This also results in new demands on the injector systems due to high viscosity formulations (up to 500 cP has been used), lyophilized formulations, light sensitivity a s o. New injector solutions from the leading developer and manufacturer of auto-injectors will be presented and discussed.

With the introduction of many new injectables in new market segments, several new risks are experienced. It is therefore important to maximize the flexibility in the manufacturing strategy, decrease the initial investments and work to meet unexpected high, or low, volume demands from the market.