Autoinjector landscape changing as suppliers re-evaluate market opportunities
According to Greystone Research, autoinjectors, which first appeared as an accessory device to aid in the administration of injectable drugs supplied in prefilled syringes, have grown to become a significant medical device market segment. As the number of drugs available in prefilled syringes as a percentage of all injectable drugs has grown, autoinjectors have experienced healthy and consistent demand, resulting in expanding competition and proliferating device product lines. Now, in response to an evolving injectable drug market, autoinjector suppliers have been re-evaluating and adjusting their product strategies to better reflect changing market conditions.
Suppliers of autoinjectors face several challenges as the market evolves and matures. Continued interest in plastic prefilled syringes will require non-brand specific injector manufacturers to validate that their devices function consistently and safely over the range of these emerging PFS devices – devices with rigidity, barrel lubricity and flexural properties that differ from type 1 glass syringes. They will have to compete – in some cases head-on – with prefilled syringe suppliers, who are increasingly incorporating autoinjector-like ease-of-use features into their PFS designs to differentiate their product lines and in some cases to meet their pharmaceutical customer requirements for product-specific syringe designs.
In the past 24 months, the competitive landscape has evolved as companies in the autoinjector market segment advance or recede from their former positions within the market. SHL Medical continues to be aggressive in terms of facilities and infrastructure investment at its manufacturing hub (Taiwan), and remains the autoinjectors segment leader in terms of the number of branded autoinjector products. Ypsomed’s autoinjector offerings have shifted as the company consolidates its injection device business to reflect a decrease in OEM customer business and as it continues to build its diabetes franchise which is being driven in large part by its distribution agreement with Insulet (USA) for the OmniPod wearable insulin pump.
Owen Mumford has retired several of its autoinjector products from the market, while Consort’s Bespak division has announced a new platform of power assisted injectors. Becton Dickinson continues to be deliberate in its approach to this segment. The company introduced a new prefillable syringe designed to be paired with its Physioject autoinjector for the delivery of biological drugs. Haselmeier is promoting a line of five injection devices that accept 3 mL cartridges, however the company no longer offers an autoinjector designed for use with a standard prefilled syringe.
A new and comprehensive report analyzing autoinjectors and autoinjection device products and markets prepared by Greystone Research Associates is now available. The report – Autoinjectors to 2020 - provides analysis and assessments of commercial autoinjectors, analysis of market and therapeutic injectable drug factors that are influencing autoinjector growth, profiles of market sector participants, and detailed assessments of strategic and economic factors.