For greater than 70 years, polymer specialist Raumedic has partnered with firms and practitioners to develop options for medical and pharmaceutical functions.
As a improvement associate, producer, and repair supplier, Raumedic has many specialists at its disposal – continually producing essential market insights – not simply by trying information, however by cultivating and sustaining relationships with key stakeholders and determination makers out there.
For this particular version of Med-Tech Innovation Information, 4 of Raumedic’s specialists agreed to share their most necessary learnings and private foresights – and their implications for the business.
Power ailments, house care, and affected person consolation: rising demand for miniaturised elements
Lena Wagner, product supervisor for drug supply, stated: “The projections for progress within the drug supply market are spectacular. Nevertheless it’s extra necessary to grasp the mechanisms and elements which can be driving this rising demand. A number of interconnected developments and phenomena are occurring concurrently.
“First, there’s an unlucky rise in power ailments all around the world. Diabetes is only one putting instance of what’s colloquially known as a “illness of civilisation.” Via globalisation and modernisation, sedentary existence – together with different unhealthy way of life selections – are adopted by folks in nations experiencing a rising lifestyle.
Second, we’re witnessing the start of the period of house care. With ageing populations and demographic imbalances, we’re coming into a time of aged care on an unprecedented scale. This, in flip, will likely be a pressure on public budgets. Dwelling care may become a silver bullet. Via trendy dosing and injection gadgets, therapies would require far fewer in-person therapies on the physician’s workplace – offering an opportunity to reign in a potential future extra of public care prices. Additional, most individuals choose the choice of distant therapies within the consolation of their very own house.
Third, the rise of power ailments and residential care have a standard theme: the necessity for normal subcutaneous injections of prescription drugs – all whereas guaranteeing affected person consolation. This typically requires wearable medical gadgets with miniaturised elements – in addition to delicate cannulas that don’t irritate sufferers when remaining underneath the pores and skin for lengthy durations of time.
That’s why, in my work at Raumedic, I’ve clearly witnessed an increase in demand for disposables for wearables in addition to extremely complicated miniaturised elements like drug channels. We additionally attempt to be forward to the curve with improvements like our patented delicate cannula from a single mould. It presents sufferers nice consolation – and clients the potential of eliminating many course of steps – in addition to improvement and manufacturing prices.”
The way forward for syringe plungers: new supplies to switch rubber?
Simone Marquardt, key account supervisor: “Many individuals in medtech nonetheless take it without any consideration that syringe plungers are product of punched rubber as a default. Nonetheless, I’m seeing a gradual however decisive shift out there – a pivot away from rubber and in the direction of new and progressive supplies. And there are good causes for it.
“Superior supplies comprise fewer components than rubber, considerably much less extractables are being launched when a drug is run with a syringe. This goes a great distance in stopping a unfavorable influence on the formulation of the drug and the triggering of undesirable bodily reactions within the affected person’s physique.
“Additional, the manufacturing technique of stumping rubber has main disadvantages. It leaves behind particles that must be washed off at nice effort. With washing, in flip, there’s a danger of cleansing residues reacting with the pharmaceutical throughout scientific utilization.
“Speaking about utilization – I typically get direct suggestions from scientific personnel, testifying to what we have now came upon in an in-house research at Raumedic: the improved dealing with properties of syringe plungers from new supplies – vis a vis the rubber plungers – can actually be felt with one’s personal fingers.
“One other upside: These new supplies could be processed through injection moulding, so anybody can have syringe plungers manufactured in response to particular person necessities and specs. Thus, it’s no marvel that there’s an increasing number of buzz about plungers based mostly on these new materials mixtures out there.”
The augmentation of polymer tubing by digital and good applied sciences
Martin Stoecker, product supervisor for Smartification: The world of medical and pharmaceutical tubing with out “smartification” will quickly be simply as unthinkable as at this time’s world of telecommunications with out the good cellphone.
However who will likely be put better off by this? Opposite to what many may assume, it’s not classical machine producers – however quite the area of interest specialists. The enterprise fashions of many medical machine producers are at present in a part of transformation. Sooner or later, firms received’t be capable to preserve their market share by solely specialising in traditional machine know-how.
In contrast, companies combining experience within the area of supplies, digital {hardware} and software program will profit from the smartification development. Solely by matching the digital with the fabric can good functions with actual added worth be developed.
Specialist firms ought to thus primarily rely and broaden upon their expertise of their space of core competence – after which incorporate progressive digital potential into each potential course of step. This enables them to remain forward of the curve and push significant innovation into the market.
As polymer specialists, we have now completed so at Raumedic. One final result is the patented “Built-in Tube Connector” (ITC), developed to measure parameters and file information at numerous factors on a tube. Universally relevant, it may be linked to any medical and pharmaceutical tubing system.
Whether or not as a mono sensor or multi sensor machine, whether or not with medium contact or with out – the platform resolution from Raumedic presents the potential for a lot of completely different functions – e.g. steering life-support-machines based mostly on parameters measured by the ITC and communicated to the bigger machine through interface perform.
Fluid dealing with: pharma firms diversifying provide chains for tubing
Nina Kaiser, head of gross sales Pharma: “The unprecedented disruptions of worldwide provide chains is resulting in changes in procurement methods. Pharma- and biotech firms should not exempted from this – fairly on the contrary.
“Whereas the provision of uncooked supplies and completed fluid dealing with merchandise was not a main concern for a very long time, the disruptions of a worldwide pandemic and the everlasting return of geostrategic energy struggles have introduced again long-forgotten issues of product availability and shortage.
“On the identical time, the demand for pharma fluid tubing is ready to proceed to develop at nice charges. This presents quite unknown suppliers out there an opportunity to turn into as second, third, and even fourth provider.
“In lots of circumstances, authentic tools producers of pharma tubing are supplying bigger firms who, in flip, re-sell the bought tubing underneath their very own model. These sorts of producers are sometimes trying to diversify their buyer base.
“Pharma firms searching for to diversify their provide chain are well-advised to hunt out a provider firm that fulfills three standards:
- Confirmed competence in manufacturing pharma tubing for a widely known giant pharma company that re-sold the product underneath their very own identify.
- Lengthy-standing agreements with suppliers of uncooked supplies. That is normally the case with giant and globally working family-owned companies with a tradition of long-term pondering.
- Spare manufacturing capacities to make sure fast implementation and basic readiness.”
