Antares Pharma, Inc. (NYSE Amex:AIS), a leader in self-injection drug delivery technology, today announced the latest advancement in its proprietary line of VIBEX™ auto-injectors.
“Conventional auto-injector designs typically have been inadequately powered or would be unwieldy to deliver larger dose volumes within a brief time that would be acceptable to most patients”
Antares' new VIBEX QS auto-injector platform offers a dose capacity of 1 mL and greater in a compact design. VIBEX QS achieves this advance by incorporating a novel triggering mechanism and space-saving spring configuration. The new design also accommodates fast injection of highly-viscous drug products that stall less-powerful conventional auto-injectors.
VIBEX QS is designed to enhance the patient experience with self-administered parenteral drugs including most biological agents. Of the $50 billion U.S. market for biological drugs in 2009, we estimate that self-administered products accounted for over half the total. Biological drugs in particular face new competitive threats as biosimilar drugs are approved in Europe and the U.S. Our patented VIBEX delivery systems address self-injectable product manufacturers' growing needs for product differentiation strategies especially as differences between the active ingredients of competing products become less apparent. Many self-injectable drugs currently marketed and in clinical development are formulated to be administered in a 1 mL dose volume, which the new VIBEX QS accommodates.
For patients, the new VIBEX QS design offers a compact device easily carried in a pocket or small handbag. "Conventional auto-injector designs typically have been inadequately powered or would be unwieldy to deliver larger dose volumes within a brief time that would be acceptable to most patients," stated Dr. Peter Sadowski, Antares' Senior Vice President and General Manager, Parenteral Products Division. "Our approach optimizes VIBEX performance for the attributes most critical to patient acceptance—speed, comfort and discretion. We surveyed more than 20 manufacturers of biological products, and every one of them expects their reliance on injection devices, as part of their product configurations, will increase in the future to remain competitive in the marketplace. That expectation is being driven by higher expectations patients have on the self-injection experience."
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