PDA Announces 2024 Drug Delivery Innovation Award Winners at Universe of Pre-Filled Syringes Conference 22 October, 2024

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) today announced the winners of the 2024 PDA Drug Delivery Innovation Awards during the opening plenary session of the 2024 PDA Universe of Pre-Filled Syringes and Injection Devices conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

This award is widely regarded as a standard of excellence in the biomedical/ pharmaceutical industry, recognizing outstanding achievements in technical innovation. Recipients are celebrated for their significant contributions, which not only advance manufacturing practices but also improve patient outcomes. Earning this award distinguishes individuals and organizations as leaders in their field, reflecting their commitment to pushing the boundaries of of drug delivery science and technology.

Glenn E. Wright, President and CEO of PDA said, “The PDA Drug Delivery Innovation Awards were created in 2019 to recognize technical innovations advancing the field of bio/pharmaceutical manufacturing. The Innovation Award recognizes a new device, manufacturing process, method, or automation that brings value to the industry; the Partnership Innovation Award recognizes achievement in partnering to successfully launch or introduce a new product to the market or modifying an existing product to make it significantly better or scalable.”

The 2024 Innovation Award is presented to Joel A. Gresham, Lead Engineer, Crux Product Design and Simon J. Dell, Senior Principal Scientist – Device Development Lead, Pfizer for a 3D imaging and analysis of large volume viscous injections with fast delivery rates in a porcine model. This study takes important steps towards addressing these risks, by providing high-resolution micro-CT visualizations with quantitative analysis of spatial injectate distributions and tissue responses (backpressure, bleb/wheal formation, leakage, intramuscular & intradermal penetration) for different volume, viscosity and rate combinations. For the first time, the interactions between injected formulation and tissue layers (including blood/lymph vessels) are shown in detail with 3D reconstructions and X-ray video for real-time visualization of fluid transport through SC tissues.

The 2024 Partnership Innovation Award is presented to Duncan Paterson, MSc, MBA, Senior Director, Device Development, AstraZeneca and Michael Herd, MEng, Senior Engineering Consultant, Team Consulting for an innovative mechanical solution for reusable autoinjectors designed to realize cost and sustainability benefits. In recent years, the concept of device reusability has garnered significant attention due to its potential to lower costs and minimize the environmental impact of drug delivery devices. As a result, reusable autoinjectors have emerged as an attractive and possibly more sustainable choice, particularly for chronic conditions that necessitate frequent dosing.