There is an upward trend in the use of pre-filled syringes and healthcare professionals recognize that pre-filled syringes are distinctly advantageous because:
- they allow lower overfill, which helps to reduce costs.
- their use increases patient compliance.
- they are easy to use for patients as well as for healthcare professionals.
- their use reduces the risk of contamination and dosage error.
- utilization of pre-filled syringes reduces possibility of reuse and hence cross infection.
Why Pre-filled Syringes are not widely used in applications like reconstituents?
Main solvents used for reconstitute lyophilised (Freeze-dried) product are NaCl and WFI. At present, most of these solvents are packed and supplied in ampoules. A sterile syringe is then required to draw the solvent from the ampoule and mix it with lyophilised drug contained in the vial for reconstitution.
This task can be made simpler and safer if the solvent is packed and supplied in pre-filled syringe. However, most of these pre-fillable syringes are supplied in nests or matrix of few tens up to hundreds of sterile ready to be filled syringes. Despite being more expensive, nested pre-fillable syringes and associated filling machine is still most popular method.
Pre-filled syringes with a Blow Fill Seal machine
Ageing population, global financial meltdown and increasing number of producers of generic drugs are all drivers to reduce the production cost.
Several fold reduction in the cost can be achieved if these syringes can be made using Blow Fill Seal technology because:
- it allows a reduction in the number of production steps.
- it allows production of pre-filled syringes in a space of 50 square meters, in few seconds starting from polymer granule at a cost of just few cents!
- it allows elimination of secondary packaging cost.
- polymer syringe is an unbreakable primary packaging container during normal handling and transportation.
- polymer syringes can have tighter tolerance, and reduce ovality of the inner diameter as compared to glass syringes. This reduces the force needed to move the plunger.
- plastic syringe eliminate issues related to presence of tungsten traces. (Tungsten can cause catalytic breakdown and some biological compounds and proteins can create agglomerate with tungsten residues).
- plastic barrels do not require siliconization and so, silicon related problems are reduced.
