Q: What is your overall assessment of the future of injectable drug delivery? What emerging trends, drivers and changes do
you expect to see in the coming years?
Kaufman: With the wave of biologics coming to market, several new devices, such as auto injectors, will see increased competition.
One clear way that companies will differentiate themselves will be in the choice of drug delivery device. Designing, developing,
producing and launching a biologic in an innovative device will not only enhance patient compliance, but could result in more
revenue. For biopharmaceutical companies, the trend is clear: find the right partner, and develop devices for your biologics
and future biologics now. It takes time and money, but it will be well worth it.
Charles Potter
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Novara: The future is very bright. There is a steady increase in chronic diseases, but therapeutic developments are keeping pace by
offering very sophisticated treatments that can be used with self-administration and injectable systems. However, there is
an increasing need for differentiation and customisation of self-injection delivery solutions to help customers strengthen
brand loyalty and to increase patient adherence and compliance with therapy. Device manufacturers with a broad portfolio of
differentiating devices, full-service expertise, a commitment to quality-by-design and global scale are uniquely positioned
to meet the needs of pharma and biotech customers, payers and healthcare professionals. Most importantly, injectable drug
delivery systems afford a unique opportunity to patients with chronic disease to optimally treat their condition with minimal
disruption to quality of life.
Potter: Biologics is one of the key growth areas in the pharmaceutical industry. Biologic products typically need to be injected
and injection technologies will be required for these products, whether they are new products or lifecycle management strategies
of existing products. I believe that there is a fantastic future for injectable drug delivery technologies. In particular,
those technologies that can deliver a range of drug and vaccines, and that are suitable for self-injection and have a low
cost of goods, will be used to develop products for both existing drugs and new drugs in development.
Sadowski: Pharmaceutical pipelines are increasingly reliant upon biological products and the range of therapeutic applications for biologics
is expanding to chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases. We are also seeing improved cancer survival rates, in
part due to improved, targeted biologic therapies, which mean that cancer will be treated more often as a chronic condition
using self-injected biologic therapies. Cost pressures and patient preferences will drive pharmaceutical firms to shift the
administration approach from higher cost settings, such as infusion centres, to self-administration. All of this will expand
the range of therapeutic applications for self-injected products, leading to greater reliance upon and advances in technologies
suited to meet the needs of increasingly diverse patient circumstances.
Steven Kaufman is Marketing Director, SHL Group (Scandinavian Health Group Ltd).
Mark Novara is Worldwide Director, Strategic Marketing / Self Administration & Injectable Systems, at BD.
Charles Potter is Chief Technical Officer at Glide Pharma.
Peter Sadowski is Chief Technology Officer at Antares Pharma, Inc.
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