Cambridge Consultants, as a product development and technology consultancy firm, usually works to help companies develop new products, but sometimes the firm comes up with its own concepts. Case in point is the Aira reusable auto-injector for biologic drugs that require to be warmed up from the refrigerator to body temperature before each injection.
The syringe is loaded directly into the injector, which is then warmed within the base unit. Once ready, a button on top of the injector will deliver the drug, revealing the needle only at the last minute. The injector has a large grip handle and an intuitive mechanism for easier drug delivery by the patients themselves or a caretaker not used to working with syringes.
From Cambridge Consultants:
“Patients are increasingly able to manage arthritis and other conditions by injecting themselves with modern biological therapies,” said Iain Simpson, of the drug delivery device development team at Cambridge Consultants. “This technology will reduce the preparation and delivery time of injections, as well as the associated pain, by heating the medicines prior to use – offering the extra confidence and reassurance that is needed to ensure greater patient compliance for vital treatments.
“The technology guides the patient through the injection process – with audible, visual and tactile signals at each stage and the needle hidden from view – allowing the drug to be warmed from fridge to body temperature in less than one minute and then reducing the injection duration by up to 30 per cent.”
As well as being faster and easier to use, the new technology helps reduce the amount of discomfort associated with injecting drugs below body temperature – and could also help drugs disperse more rapidly into the body. Future applications of the technology could include cancer treatments, where there is an increasing trend towards self-administration.
Cambridge Consultants: Technology to ease the pain of arthritis
