Douglas Hamilton, Covestro

Diabetes is on the rise. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates there are roughly 415 million people affected by this chronic condition. By 2045, this is expected to rise to 629 million. For many, living with diabetes requires injecting insulin on a regular basis – a painful yet necessary ritual. In addition, it’s believed that there are some people who do not adequately treat their condition due to a fear of needles. Increasingly, medical device companies are looking for alternative methods of delivering medicine to those who need it.

One area of promise is needle-free injection technology, a drug delivery system that directly transfers medicine into patients without piercing the skin with a conventional needle. With biologics and other drugs that require self-injection entering the marketplace, needle-free injection technology offers many advantages over needle injections, including more efficient and less painful drug administration for patients. It is hoped that providing a more comfortable, efficient injection experience will help increase medication compliance.

Bringing this type of advancement to market requires pharmaceutical developments. But that’s just half of the equation. Life-enhancing medical technology like this also requires materials that can meet the rigorous challenges these applications demand.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Delivery Business News.