Demand for Prefilled Syringes Continues to Grow, Given Numerous Benefits they Offer Over Convent
by Roots Analysis Roots Analysis provides market research and consulThe first successful use of prefilled
syringes can be traced back to early 1980s when Sanofi and Rhone Poulenc-Rorer
(Sanofi-Aventis) introduced syringes as drug delivery devices for heparins, in
Europe.
In the initial years, prefilled syringes were niche market products and their
applications were limited to some vaccines and anticoagulant products. Now they
have been around for more than three decades and are used as injectable
formulations for all major therapeutic drug classes. Owing to their numerous
benefits over conventional delivery systems, such as vials or ampoules,
prefilled syringes, have become indispensable in the medical field.
The prefilled syringes market has witnessed
impressive growth post their introduction. They are now a primary container of
choice for parenteral mode of drug administration. The driving factors behind
the increasing demand for prefilled syringes are listed below:
§ Quick administration of drugs, which is especially beneficial in
emergency situations.
§ Increase patient compliance because of ease of self-administering;
patients can thus save time and money instead of going to a doctor's office or
infusion center.
§ Increase accuracy and reduce dosing errors because of pre-measured
doses.
§ Relatively higher assurance of sterility.
§ Easy to store and dispose.
§
Removal of preservatives (such as thimerosal which is potentially
neurotoxic)
from prefilled vaccine formulations.
§
Better and efficient use of controlled drugs, such as narcotics.
§
Reduced injection cost due to less manual preparation of dosage.
Additionally, key benefits of prefilled
syringes to the manufacturers are listed below:
§ Reduced cost of
manufacturing; it is worth highlighting that plastic prefilled syringes are
more affordable. Moreover, these syringes are less prone to damage (cracking or
breakage) compared to their glass counterparts.
§ Reduced time for fill /
finish due to availability of ready to fill, pre-sterilized containers.
§ Reduced drug overfills,
helping manufacturers further optimize on overall expenditure (by preventing
product loss during fill / finish). For a 0.5 ml vial, the United States
Pharmacopeia (USP) recommends 20%-25% overfill, whereas the required overfill
is < 2% for a 0.5 ml prefilled syringe.
§ Higher filling line efficiency,
compared to vials, with use of modern automated filling technology, such as
barrier isolation systems.
§ More robust and versatile
drug delivery device (compared to vials), with the potential to be
marketed at premium prices. This is likely to directly impact the revenue
generation potential of developer companies.
Owing to the benefits listed above,
applications of prefilled syringes have extended to new indications, such as
rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Prefilled syringes market is one
of the fastest growing markets in drug delivery and pharmaceutical packaging
industry. Despite the large number of benefits offered by them, limitations
with the use of prefilled syringes still exist, leaving room for further
technological improvements. Manufacturers of prefilled syringes are
continuously looking for innovations in technologies and materials to enhance
the benefits and applications of prefilled syringes. Incorporation of new
design features and technical improvements to meet the needs of healthcare
industry promises to maintain dominance of prefilled syringes in drug delivery
market.
During our research, we identified 100
prefilled syringes that are available / under development for delivery of
different types of drug molecules. Majority (~70%) of such syringes have glass
barrels, while the remaining have plastic barrels.
A large proportion (84%) of prefilled syringes have a
single chamber and very few companies manufacture dual chamber prefilled
syringes. Examples of dual chamber prefilled syringes include (in
alphabetical order, no selection criteria) Companion Dual Chamber
Reconstitution Syringe, Dual Chamber PrefillableTM Syringe, FULJECT
Passive Type Syringe, Lyo-DCPS and PC-Lyo.
The market is featured
by the presence of across 30 companies that are presently manufacturing
different types of prefilled
syringes. The industry is dominated by a handful of large and
well-established players; the Asia-Pacific region is one of the key hubs for
prefilled syringe manufacturers. Moreover, majority of
the companies (56%) have manufacturing facilities in Asia-Pacific; among these,
five companies have facilities in Japan followed by four companies with
facilities in China.
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Created on Jun 30th 2020 13:07. Viewed 341 times.