Autoinjectors Market

The autoinjector is a medical device that is designed to deliver a dose of a drug. Autoinjectors are easy to use and are intended for self-administration by patients themselves or even by an untrained person. The site of injection depends on the drug-filled, but it is typically administered into the thigh or buttocks. The purpose behind designing these autoinjectors is to overcome the hesitation associated with self-administration of needle-based drug delivery devices. The 21st Century Care Act (CCA) offers the promise of low cost for medical devices, drugs, and combination products. Within the medical device, the autoinjector is positioned as a major contender with the potential to expand the target patient audience for many biotech therapies. Autoinjectors are most widely used in the military to protect personnel from chemical welfare agents. In the US military, atropine and 2-PAM-CL are used as a first aid against nerve agents. As there is a rising prevalence of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis the demand for autoinjectors is increasing. The global autoinjectors market is expected to grow due to the rising incidence of anaphylaxis, the growing prevalence of targeted therapies, and an increasing number of regulatory approvals.

Anaphylaxis is a sudden life-threating allergic reaction on the skin. The rising prevalence of anaphylaxis can be seen among children. As per a survey carried out by the McGill University Health Centre in 2016, around 6,00,000 Canadians were suffering from anaphylaxis. The study also showed that between 2011 and 2015, the annual percentage of emergency department (ED) visit to the MCH-MUHC due to anaphylaxis rose from 0.20% to 0.41%, with the largest annual increase between 2013 and 2014 and between 2014 and 2015. The majority (80.2%) of anaphylaxis cases were triggered by food, principally peanut, and tree nut, and that children who did not receive epinephrine prior to arrival at the ED were more likely to receive multiple doses of epinephrine at the hospital. As a rising incidence of anaphylaxis is observed, the demand for autoinjectors is also increasing. Overall there has been a net increase in the number of new and ongoing autoinjectors as compared to previous years, with the increasing use of autoinjectors. Hence, the demand for autoinjectors is expected to increase in the future.

As some of the autoinjectors are not easily accessible, and there are a lot of complaints from the customers the FDA is issuing a warning for some of the EpiPen auto-injectors as well as for authorized generic versions of autoinjectors. The reason for product recall is also attributed to the defective parts in autoinjectors which may lead to false results. Hence, an increase in product recalls had been observed in recent years. The expanding recall of autoinjectors was seen not only in the US but also in other markets in North America and South America. In the US, around 13 lots of both EpiPen and EpiPen Jr. auto-injectors recall was observed on December 17, 2015, and July 1, 2016, respectively. Mylan, the company that markets autoinjector devices, announced in 2017 that they had recalled one lot of roughly 80,000 EpiPens autoinjectors from Australia, Europe, Japan, and New Zealand. As lots of manufacturing defects were found in autoinjectors, most of the products were recalled which eventually restrains the growth of the market.