Acuros

And from a new delivery tech powered by water, to continuous, large dose delivery platforms, the offerings seemed to reflect the industry’s current focus on improving patient compliance. in-PharmaTechnologist brings you the lowdown of this year’s attention grabbers.Aptar Pharma gave us an exclusive first look at its new eDevices aimed at improving the efficiency of nasal drug delivery.The e-Dose Counter displays the remaining doses inside the container, whilst the e-Lockout platform allows only a set number of doses over a determined period of time.“We aim to improve patient compliance, and prevent the risk of overdose and abuse through our new devices,” Joachin Koerner, VP of eDevice R&D said.The devices can be used in conjunction with either Aptar Pharma’s existing eDevice tech, or with others on the market.Koerner added: “The unique thing about our product is that we will develop it to fit the primary package it is being added to. We do not in any way modify the original technology, which saves time and money on development.”Bespak introduced its new single-use nasal delivery device, Unidose Xtra.The appliance delivers a liquid dosage between 100 – 150 micro litres into the nasal cavity. Bespak says it will improve patient compliance because of tight particle distribution, which reduces variability from device to device.“We have already had interest from a number of major pharmaceutical companies, and have two developments with such firms currently on-going over our nasal technology,” the company’s commercial director Ian Campbell told us.He added that Bespak had discussed its platform with a number of firms at the conference in Paris.Unilife launched its Autoinfusor continuous delivery tech on a commercial scale for the first time.The platform – a range of devices which can inject or infuse doses from 2ml to 15ml – works by delivering medication over a set period of time.Stephen Allan, VP of marketing and communications, told in-PharmaTechnologist the firm decided to roll-out the collection after receiving a number of demands from pharma companies in need of larger dose continuous delivery.“The need is for larger dose and more viscous therapies that can be administered in the comfort of the patient’s own home.”The firm is now developing its tech to suit the needs of those companies, and is on the lookout for more commercial opportunities.Acuros showed in-PharmaTechnologist its water-powered delivery pump, telling us how it has progressed since it first made an appearance at last year’s CPhI conference.The pump is a single-use disposable device which uses the process of osmosis as a power source. CEO Helge Adleff said: “This is very unique, because you do not need any battery or power supply, just water an osmotic drive and the primary packaging, or pre-filled syringe, in the device.“Having no power supply is a great advantage for the out-patient market, people can walk around freely and don’t have to be attached to a power supply.”He added that though no deal has yet been signed over the platform, Acuros has enjoyed many “interesting” discussions with other firms at Pharmapack.BD said its new patient comfort clinical studies surrounding its recently launched Physioject equipment shows less pain when self-injecting.The device encompasses a pre-filled syringe with a hidden-needle. It is intended for patients suffering from chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and MS.Patients using the Physioject scored an average of 6 on the pain scale, instead of 15 – the average for a normal pre-filled syringe.However when asked the reason for reduced pain, Joel Cotten, European product manager of pharmaceutical systems, said the team could only guess it is psychosomatic. He added: “The device is a non-medical device, appears more friendly, all the needles are not visible. We can guess this helps to create better comfort. Very frankly, we don’t know exactly why, but we are currently conducting more studies.”Check in over the next coming weeks for exclusive podcasts and interviews about each of the devices, and more news from Pharmapack Europe 2012.