A MARKET IN TRANSITION
The clinical and workflow benefits of PFSs compared with vials rest on the inherent differences required to prepare a dose
of a vaccine, or any injectable, packaged in a unit-dose, ready-to-administer format versus a non-ready-to-use format, whether
single or multi-dose.
With their inherently simple design, prefilled syringes do not rely on consistently flawless and technique and aseptic practices
to reduce injection-related risks—instead, they completely eliminate the need for several of the preparation steps that open
the door to avoidable risks and consume additional clinician time. In a sense, they embody safety-by-design principles that
are important when considering human factors and the user interface.
The growing recognition of the many advantages of PFSs have fueled a significant shift towards their use for all vaccine
types, most significantly influenza, where the percent of flu vaccine packaged in PFSs has grown from approximately 21% during
the 2006–2007 campaign to 48% in 2012–2013 (12). In Europe, nearly all of these same vaccines brought to market are packaged
in PFSs (13).
Further adoption of vaccines packaged in PFSs is expected to continue, for both new and currently marketed vaccines, particularly
as clinicians and vaccine enterprise stakeholders look more closely at the implication of packaging at the user interface
and understand the benefits PFSs offer in terms of greater efficiency and advancing best care.
Brian Lynch is program lead, Health Science and Technology, Immunization, Brian_Lynch@bd.com
, and Philip Song is a quality assurance staff engineer, Philip_Song@bd.com
, both at BD Medical–Pharmaceutical Systems.
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