The technology – part of the firm's Syrina range – is designed to let patients self-administer dosages of up to 2ml in less than 15 seconds.
The injector – which uses the VapourSoft liquefied gas system to power delivery – was designed with higher, viscosity large molecule drug formulations and patient compliance in mind according to Bespak spokesman, Steve Ellul.
“The drive towards self-administration for many of these products has created a need in the market for autoinjector devices which enable delivery by untrained patients.”
He also told us there is a desire for autoinjector devices that allow less frequent administration thus further minimizing disruption to patients which is increasing demand for innovative delivery technologies.
“To achieve this requires more drug to be included in a single dose, and in many cases requires the use of formulation technology which will allow the drug to be released into the blood stream over a much longer period of time.
“The consequence of both of these in many cases is a larger delivery volume in a significantly more viscous formulation.”
New deal
The technology – like all products in the Syrina range – was developed at Bespak’s facility in Cambridge, UK. It was tested using non-drug containing surrogate liquids with a range of viscosities Ellul explained, adding that potential drug industry customers are permitted to test actual product formulations.
“We have enable many companies to test their own drug formulations in our technology. For reasons of client confidentiality we are not able to reveal what drugs have been tested so far.”
Since launching the technology last week, Bespak has already signed a development deal with an unnamed “leading global biopharmaceutical company.”