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Insight: Pre-Filled Syringes, An Exciting New Technology Acquired By Fresenius Kabi Product Partnering
September 9, 2008
• Fresenius Kabi Newsletter: Insight: Pre-Filled Syringes, An Exciting New Technology Acquired By Fresenius Kabi Product Partnering
By Fresenius Kabi Product Partnering
Pre-filled syringes (PFS) have a lot of advantages over conventional containers for drugs for injection and enjoy excellent market acceptance. Sales of PFS have been growing at rates in the double digits for the last few years, partly driven by the introduction of increasing numbers of biotech drugs. This is leading to a growth in importance of the parenteral route of drug application. Pre-filled syringes cut out the transfer of the drug from the ampoule or vial to the syringe – this saves some work for the person applying the drug, and it also saves (waste) material. A bigger saving results when the drug itself is expensive (e.g. proteins). Conventional containers have to be overfilled to allow for losses in the transfer to the syringe, whereas PFS deliver the correct dose reliably with significantly less overfill. Taken together, these savings can more than offset the higher production costs of PFS compared to other containers.
Safety is also an issue, both for the healthcare professionals and the patients. Handling of needles, syringes and ampoules is well known as a source of the small accidents that expose healthcare workers to drugs and/or infection. Healthcare employers worldwide are under pressure to reduce these risks to their staff, and PFS are an obvious improvement. For the patients, PFS also reduce the risks of contamination of the drug and cross-infection. Also, because the final container used to administer the drug to the patient is clearly labeled, PFS eliminate risks of misidentification and mix-ups, which are particularly dangerous when highly potent drugs are in play. Because of this ease and safety of use, PFS can be made in versions suitable for self-administration, making them an ideal response to the growing demand for home-use products.
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