To be marketed by the name of Unifill Select
Unilife Medical Solutions (Unilife) has filed a patent applications in the US for a new ready-to-fill syringe product to be marketed as the Unifill Select. The product is intended to be primarily targeted for use with vaccines. Unilife has recently commenced discussions with a number of interested pharmaceutical parties regarding the syringe.
The company said that Unifill Select is a new product line that will complement the Unifill syringe, which Unilife is currently bringing to market with its major pharmaceutical customer. The Unifill syringe features a fixed-length retractable needle, and is primarily targeted for use with drugs such as anti-coagulants, multiple sclerosis and some vaccines where prefilled syringes with a standard fixed-length needle are used to administer a dose via subcutaneous injection.
The newly filed patent application for the Unifill Select product is designed to address the prefilled requirements of pharmaceutical companies that manufacture injectable drugs and vaccines indicated for administration via IM injection.
Standard clinical procedures for IM injections require healthcare workers to select the gauge and length of a needle based upon the age, gender, and size of the patient, as well as the location of the muscle into which the drug will be administered. A needle length of between 5/8th of an inch and 1½ inches is typically used for IM injections to ensure the dose is administered at the correct depth into the target muscle of the patient.
Prefilled syringes containing drugs and vaccines indicated for the administration of drugs via IM injection are typically supplied in a format whereby healthcare operators can attach a needle of a suitable length to accommodate the patient’s clinical needs.
The Unifill Select syringes will allow healthcare workers to attach needles of up to 1½ inches in length and inject the dose into the patient as per routine procedures for IM administration. Upon full dose delivery, the needle retraction mechanism is activated automatically with the operator being able to control the speed of needle withdrawal directly from the body into the glass barrel.
Pharmaceutical companies may elect to supply the Unifill Select to healthcare facilities in a compact and convenient kit format, which is ready-for-injection by healthcare workers. Like its companion product the Unifill syringe, the Unifill Select would also be compatible with the drug filling systems now utilized by pharmaceutical companies for comparable standard prefilled syringes, said the company.