Unilife Corporation (UNIS) recently announced that it started initial production of its Unifill ready-to-fill (prefilled) syringe at its FDA-approved plant located in York, Pennsylvania.
The early production run of the Unifill syringe, the only syringe with safety aspects totally integrated inside the glass barrel, will permit the company to speed up its dialogue with over 20 pharma companies. These pharma companies are studying the potential use of the Unifill syringe.
After Unilife concludes product validation issues for the syringe sometime in the second quarter of 2011, it can commence initial sales to its existing pharma associates. Subsequently, the company will start selling the Unifill syringe to other prospective clients.
Unilife expects that its early production batches will be used by pharma companies and contract manufacturing organizations. The possible range of usage stretches from market evaluation to initiation of drug stability studies.
Prefilled syringes act as the main drug container for about 50 injectable vaccines and drugs that are marketed by over 20 pharma companies. Over 2.4 billion prefilled syringes are utilized each year, as per Greystone Associates, and the market is growing at about 12% per annum. Unilife is of the opinion that the pharma market for prefilled syringes is the most rapidly growing, relatively uncongested and most lucrative segment of the global syringe industry.
Re-domiciled in the U.S., in January 2010, Unilife is a medical devices company that designs, manufactures and sells retractable syringes. The company sells its prefilled syringes to pharma manufacturers, suppliers of medical products to healthcare facilities and patients who self-administer prescription drugs. Its patented syringes provide integrated safety, which is designed to protect patients from needle stick injuries.
Unilife is an ISO 13485-cerified company. It competes with Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) among others.
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