Eric Dessertenne, head of business development and commercial operations, Biocorp, describes the company’s advancement in the medical device and digital health sectors
Eric Dessertenne, head of business development and commercial operations, Biocorp
Who are you and what do you do?
Biocorp specialises in the development and manufacturing of medical devices, including smart drug delivery devices. The company develops innovative primary packaging and safety systems for the pharmaceutical industry such as reconstitution sets, alternative to crimp caps and leading-edge passive safety systems for prefilled syringes. We also offer expertise in digital health: a device R&D team and a software R&D team work hand-in-hand to develop highly integrated devices that help patients manage their treatment and improve their therapeutic compliance. Our most advanced smart delivery system yet is the DataPen, a reusable injection pen connected by Bluetooth to a dedicated smartphone app.
What projects have you been focused on recently?
Our R&D teams have recently focused their efforts on two devices: the DataPen and the NewGuard, a product combining the properties of a rigid needle shield with those of a passive safety system for syringes.
The DataPen is the first injection pen directly connected to a smartphone app. This fully integrated system aims at helping patients administer their medication, manage their treatment and share essential data with their physicians or relatives. Lack of therapeutic compliance is a huge underserved issue that affects patients, payers and pharmaceutical companies. The DataPen is used for subcutaneous delivery and is compatible with standard 3ml cartridges. The proof-of-concept has been developed for insulin therapy in diabetes mellitus, as real-time management is extremely important for this chronic condition. The software brings numerous advantages, such as data sharing, reminders, etc.
The NewGuard device addresses issues affecting several stakeholders of the pharmaceutical industry. This system shields the needle to prevent needle stick injuries and contaminations, as required by regulatory authorities. In the US, the “Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act” was signed into law on November 6, 2000, to implement safer medical devices. In Europe, the two directives 89/391 and 2000/54 define risk management plans that healthcare providers have to implement in order to avoid accidental contaminations due to needles and sharp objects. Secondly, the NewGuard also provides a safety system that automatically locks the needle inside the rigid shield after the first injection. The World Health Organization recently published guidelines on the use of safety-engineered syringes for intramuscular, intradermal and subcutaneous injections in health care settings. This report was motivated by the alarming number of unsafe injections with the multiple use of the same syringes or needles on different patients, spreading deadly infectious diseases. Finally, the NewGuard combines these two functions while taking into account industrial processes and costs. Thanks to its size and shape, this device is compatible with nests. In consequence, manufacturing and assembly processes can be handled directly by glass manufacturers.
Describe your latest innovation
Our latest innovation strengthens Biocorp’s position as the pioneer in connected drug delivery and is a new addition to our smart drug delivery devices range. This device is an add-on that fits on existing – and marketed - insulin pens to transfer patient data directly to a dedicated mobile app. This innovation brings many benefits to patients, physicians, pharmaceutical companies and payers.
What does it mean for the medical sector?
This latest innovation, along with the DataPen, underlines the increasing role that digital technologies play in the healthcare sector. During the last decade, numerous studies on health information technology have underlined the positive impact of eHealth and mHealth on the healthcare system and patients’ health). If medical mobile apps are efficiently integrated into treatments, they offer unprecedented opportunities to lower healthcare costs, improve treatment outcomes and enhance point-of-care delivery.
Plans for the future
We plan to keep on developing new innovative devices for the pharmaceutical industry, both connected and non-connected. We are eager to continue contributing to the development of eHealth and mHealth technologies thanks to our two core competencies. We are considering new therapeutic areas for which we could adapt our platform technology.