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With Obvious Benefits, Needle-free Injection Continues to Search for Commercial Success

Amherst, N.H. – For patients, caregivers and even suppliers, the promise of needle-free injection seems to always be just over the horizon. Like someone waiting on the pier, we can see the mast and the sail, but the ship never comes into view. While the technology continues to garner interest from drug developers and healthcare decision makers, the companies making and marketing needle-free injectors are still searching for the right strategy.

To increase the commercial prospects for NFIs, companies have invested in new device models that incorporate design enhancements and improved human engineering. Taking a page from the pen injector design book, the new generation of devices, many of which are still considered to be in development, are lighter, have a sleek profile and employ warm colors that bestow them with a patient friendliness.

The business approach of needle-free injection companies is also evolving. The historical model of the NFI developer as a device company licensing its technology to pharmaceutical firms - a model pioneered by BioJect in deals with Serono (now a part of Merck) and Ferring - is being challenged by newer companies such as Zogenix and PowderMed (part of Pfizer), companies that own NFI technology and use it to develop combination drug-device products in-house.

Beyond mainstream injectable drug delivery are several niche markets such as animal health that are being pursued by specialty NFI device companies. Another group of companies continues to work with NGOs such as the World Health Organization (WHO) on improved devices for mass immunization in underdeveloped countries.

 Source: Greystone Associates