PDA’s Universe of Pre-filled Syringes and Injection Devices began yesterday morning with a look back to their first conference, which welcomed 70 delegates and 12 exhibitors. The conference’s fifteenth edition is set to host over 900 delegates and 135 exhibitors, and features talks and presentations from some of the biggest players in the parenteral drug delivery industry.
So, what have the conference trends been so far? Here are some of our highlights:
Connected doesn’t have to be complicated
Julia Haring from Novo Nordisk presented the first session on Digital Health: Design for Behaviour You Would Like to See. Novo conducted an eight-site study in Sweden with their Novo Pen 6. The study participants demonstrated a marked improvement in adherence to their medication use. From their study, 43% fewer users missed meal-time insulin injections and managed their condition more effectively. Interestingly, this device didn’t have an accompanying app. The recorded data (number of units injected with the date and time of the injection) was only uploaded when they visited their health care professional. This information was then matched with glucose monitors to track how well they were managing their diabetes. An effective, yet simple connected system.
Regulatory changes
Several sessions so far have focused on regulatory issues. The impact of article 117 of the MDR (Medical Device Regulation), concerning regulation of combination products, was the subject of a lot of scrutiny and discussion. Chris Hurlstone, Director of Engineering at Team, presented a poster offering advice on regulations for combination products.
Award winning innovations
This year marked the introduction of PDA’s Drug Delivery Innovation Awards. The winner of the device or process innovation was Fujifilm Kyowa and Kirin Biologics for their Hulio non-citrate polymer syringe. The second winner for the partnership innovation for successfully launching a breakthrough device was Congruence Medical Solutions and Santen for their Microlitre Dosing Syringe. Congratulations to all the teams!
How do you design a body worn injector?
Steve Augustyn, Head of Mechanical Engineering Group at Team, is presenting a poster that looks at the many and varied aspects of designing a successful parenteral device.
Stay tuned for our roundup of day 2, including Paul Greenhalgh’s talk on connected devices: To connect, or not to connect? That is the question at PDA!
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