News
World leader in the development and manufacturing of nasal and pulmonary drug delivery devices, Aptar Pharma will present its latest innovation, eDevices, at the Pharmapack Europe tradeshow, to be held in Paris, France, from February 15th to February 16th, 2012.
Patient adherence Many patients with chronic diseases do not take their drugs as prescribed by their physician. Poor adhesion to the prescribed regimen may cost as much as USD 300 billion per year to the American healthcare system (Medco Studies). Increasing the effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatments. (WHO, 2003). With the objective in mind of enhancing patient adherence, Aptar Pharma has been working for more than one decade ago on smart solutions leveraging electronics for future drug delivery devices. The regulator’s perspective There is a growing trend by health authorities across the world towards increasing regulations. As an example, any new drug product using an asthma pressurized Metered Dose Inhaler in the USA needs to be fitted with a dose indicating or counting system to allow the patient to monitor the number of doses remaining. Another move applies to the multidose nasal spraying devices for controlled substances such as opioids that are used to treat breakthrough pain. Some countries require these devices to have a dose counter and/or a locking mechanism to prevent overdose and drug abuse. While electronics allow a dose counter to display large and highly legible digits (compared with mechanical counters), time-controlled robust locking systems can only be achieved with electromechanical components.
Market acceptance User studies have confirmed that electronic drug delivery devices are now as well accepted by the majority of consumers as smart portable devices such as phones, games, and pads. Because these drug delivery devices are designed with a patient-centric approach, the targeted patient population finds them very convenient to use. Turning high performance drug delivery systems into smart devices With more than 15 years of experience in smart drug delivery solutions, Aptar Pharma will present its two new electronic drug delivery eDevice platforms, known as e-Dose Counter and e-Lockout, at the upcoming Pharmapack Europe tradeshow. e-Dose Counter e-Dose Counter is a cost effective solution which meets regulatory recommendations for nasal and sub-lingual spray delivery of controlled substances. The use of electronics allows the counting display to be large and highly visible making it suitable for patients of all conditions and ages. Electronics can also provide patient comfort features such as acoustic feedback and flashing displays to inform and warn. e-Lockout e-Lockout counts and displays the number of actuations and also prevents the device from being used for a period of time after a pre-defined number of actuations. Its locking system which warns of overdosing is recommended by regulators for nasal and sub-lingual spray delivery of controlled substances used in breakthrough pain management. In addition to counting and displaying the number of actuations and locking, some of the key features which can also be incorporated into e-Lockout include patient aids and feedback as well as data transmission. These two eDevice platforms are specially aimed at improving patient compliance. During Pharmapack Europe, Joachim Koerner, Aptar Pharma’s expert in electronic R&D, will give a presentation on eDevices on February 16th, at 11.30 am. “With all these innovative developments, Aptar Pharma is able to offer robust and cost-effective solutions for enhancing patient compliance. Smart devices will have an important role to play in integrated healthcare provider systems as these start to be deployed in the mid to long-term future.”, said Joachim Koerner, Vice President eDevice R&D, Aptar Pharma Prescription Division.
For more information on eDevices, please visit our booth #541or click here:
www.aptar.com/pharma/prescription-division
Aptar Pharma is part of the Aptargroup family of companies, along with Aptar Beauty + Home and Aptar Food + Beverage. We create innovative drug delivery systems that meet the evolving needs of biotechnology, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies around the world. We provide our customers with a wide range of delivery technologies and analytical services backed by years of proven expertise. For more information, visit www.aptar.com/pharma Aptargroup (NYSE: ATR) is headquartered in the US and has manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. For more information, visit www.aptar.com.
Elisa Eschylle, Events and Press relations manager Tel.: + 33 (0)1 39 17 20 41 Email : elisa.eschylle@aptar.com Marion Baschet Vernet, Press attaché Tel.: +44 (0)797 609 41 00 Email : mbvernet@gmail.com
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