DCA and Sanofi present at PDA’s Universe of Pre-filled Syringes and Injection Devices 2019

Published on: 1st November 2019

In October 2019, DCA attended the PDA Universe of Pre-filled Syringes and Injection Devices conference in Gothenburg.  The show was well attended, with diverse papers covering themes ranging from opportunities in digital health to injectable devices for low-income countries.
DCA’s Rob Veasey spoke at the conference with Sanofi’s Stefan Bohling.  Their presentation described the creation of AllStar®, a pen-injector that is targeted at the needs of people with diabetes in developing markets.

Pen-type injectors were first developed over 30 years ago and since then have helped to transform the treatment of diabetes and other indications that require high-precision delivery of user variable doses.  Multiple generations of pen injectors have been developed, with each new generation improving on the previous ones in terms of usability, safety and performance. 

The economics of the pharmaceutical industry has encouraged manufacturers to target their latest devices at wealthy US and European markets, with older models often being transferred for sale into developing economies.  This has meant that millions of patients in developing markets are saddled with older or ‘obsolete’ technology that was not specifically developed with their needs in mind.

Some years ago, Sanofi and DCA undertook an experiment. We asked how to create and industrialise a pen-injector that is specifically aimed at developing markets.  Rob and Stefan’s presentation described challenges that were overcome in developing AllStar®, a pen-injector that was originally created for India.

 

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