BD and Biocorp joined forces to improve the outcomes and adherence of self-administered drugs through connected drug delivery, by combining the use of digital technology with prefillable syringes.
Key insights:
- BD and Biocorp have signed an agreement to integrate the use of digital technology with self-administered therapies, via connected drug delivery.
- This type of connected drug delivery captures and transmits self-administered injection data, to help improve patient experience, adherence and experience.
- With NFC technology, information can easily be transferred from the complete injection to a smartphone through specific sensors.
The global market of connected drug delivery is expected to hit double-digit growth rates over the next decade – fueled by the transition from acute healthcare to home care, and the increased prevalence of self-administered therapies.
Despite the greater flexibility offered with home injections, medical adherence is a growing problem in this sector – with chronic medication adherence as low as 50%. One report showed the estimated overall cost of non-adherence (defined as taking less than 80% of a prescribed dose of medication) is around €125 billion across Europe.
One partnership decided to tackle this issue by combining the use of digital technology and injectable drugs within the biopharma space.
Capture and transmit
BD, a supplier in prefillable syringes and safety systems to the biopharmaceutical industry, and Biocorp, a medical device and delivery systems manufacturer, joined forces to improve the outcomes and adherence of self-administered drugs, through connected drug delivery.
Under the agreement terms, Biocorp’s Injay technology - a solution designed to capture and transmit injection events using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology - will be integrated with BD’s UltraSafe Plus Passive Needle Guard - used with prefillable syringes - with the aim to improve the adherence and outcomes of injectable drug therapies, like biologics. This type of connected drug delivery aims to do this by capturing and transmitting self-administered injection data.
“Connected drug delivery devices play an important role in helping biopharmaceutical manufacturers understand and track key trends in patient adherence,” said Matthew Schabacker, vice president and general manager of Advanced Drug Delivery Solutions at BD.
“Our agreement with BioCorp enables us to explore innovative solutions in this market and further supports BD’s commitment to smart, connected care, enabling care to transition to alternate settings and improving chronic disease outcomes — as we combine Biocorp’s expertise in developing and commercialising connected drug delivery devices to our existing portfolio of advanced injection drug delivery systems.”
Commenting on the partnership, Trevor said: “It’s our goal to combine the speed, agility and start-up mindset of Biocorp with BD’s broad manufacturing capacities and global reach. We first identified Biocorp through an in-depth analysis aimed at identifying companies who have technologies with the proven ability to track end-of-injection events on syringes and a strong track record of developing connected drug delivery devices. We look forward to driving synergies between our two organisations.”
Connected drug delivery to improve adherence
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a proven and widespread technology with applications in multiple industries. NFC is also used in hospitals for patient identification and medication packaging.
Trevor adds: “An emerging healthcare application is in electrophysiology sensors, in which an NFC tag can store patient monitoring data collected over a period (i.e. heart rate, temperature) and be read by the physician’s smartphone to get the patients data.”
Biocorp’s Injay is a “simple and cost-effective connected solution designed to monitor the use of pre-fillable syringes in clinical studies or routine care.” Once a completed injection is confirmed, the NFC technology can easily transfer than information to a smartphone through specific sensors.
Trevor expands on this: “While not all connected drug delivery solutions are NFC-based, we see a key opportunity to extend NFC technology to the prefillable syringe market going forward – where we currently serve approximately 70 percent of the top 100 biopharmaceutical companies.”
The prevalence of self-administered therapies for chronic diseases combined with the pervasiveness of digital technologies can open opportunities to improve outcomes and experience for patients, as well as increase the ability to monitor medication adherence.
“We are very proud to announce this collaboration with BD, a worldwide leader in pre-filled syringes and safety device market,” said Eric Dessertenne, CEO of Biocorp. “It shows the leading position of Biocorp in the field of smart drug delivery devices and addresses an unmet need in the market today.”
Although both companies are in the discovery phase of the partnership, Trevor mentions that they will continue to communicate progress as they advance and explore opportunities surrounding connected drug delivery solutions in biopharma.