Drug delivery round-up
Sanofi Pasteur has begun shipping its new Fluzone Intradermal flu vaccine in the US.
The product uses an ultra-fine microinjection system with a needle which is 90 per cent shorter than the standard subcutaneous needle used for intramuscular delivery.
The device, licensed by the US FDA in May, is the first in America that provides an intradermal delivery of the influenza vaccine.
And the company hopes the shorter needle will encourage more adults to opt for the jab.
Damian Braga, senior VP of commercial operations at Sanofi Pasteur said: "Our commitment to introducing new technologies, such as Fluzone Intradermal vaccine, reflects Sanofi Pasteur's expertise in developing innovative immunization options that can help foster greater vaccine acceptance among adults."
Haselmeier has launched the Axis-D pen platform in collaboration with its client Merck Sorono.
The new pre-filled injection device will allow patients to self inject, adjust the dosage, and to re-use the pen several times until the cartridge is empty.
And the German-based companies also developed a sliding dose window which allows easy measurement reading and provides reduced risk of incorrect dosing.
Volker Wirth, Director Business Development & Marketing at Haselmeier said: “For security reasons, we added a function to the pen to immediately confirm that a complete dose was delivered, or to indicate the missing amount if an incomplete dose is injected.”
He added: “We are proud of this successful collaboration with Merck Serono and we look forward to continuing our business relationship in the future.”
Unigene Laboratories’ orally delivered post-menopausal osteoporosis drug Ostora achieved all efficacy endpoints in its Phase III clinical trial.
The data, presented at this year’s American Society for Bone and Mineral Research meeting, showed that safety profile for Ostora – oral calcitonin – did not substantially differ from nasal calcitonin or placebo.
And if the results are anything to go by, the company’s Peptelligence platform could be the first to deliver calcitonin orally rather than via injections or nasal delivery.
Unigene’s CEO Ashleigh Palmer said : “In particular, the success of the study clearly illustrates how Unigene's Peptelligence platform is pioneering oral peptide production and delivery, having successfully overcome the often mission critical challenges of Phase 3 clinical development and could potentially be the first oral natural peptide to market."
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has won a $4.4m (€3.2m) contract from the US Department of Health and Human Services Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
Under the deal, SwRI will develop a nasal delivery, first-line treatment system to treat cyanide poisoning.
Currently, FDA approved therapies must be administered via injection by a health care professional, but a nasal formulation of the drug – amyl nitrite – could be self-administered, potentially saving thousands of lives.
“The amyl nitrite, supplied in a simple nasal delivery system, could easily be used to treat numerous victims by simple nasal instillation, and is very well suited even for self administration,” said Joe McDonough, principal investigator and director of SwRI's microencapsulation and nanomaterials department.
