PLUG & PLAY

Work undertaken whilst an employee at Cambridge Consultants

Project brief: Design a wearable injector which integrates a new drug delivery technology

The Plug & Play concept is designed to cope with biological drugs, which are used for the treatment of conditions such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Their biophysical properties mean they can be more viscous or come in larger volumes than traditional injectable drugs – so they can be difficult to inject in the traditional way.

The injection of biologic drugs using traditional methods can take considerable time, require multiple painful injections, reduce a patient’s freedom of movement during the injection and require a hospital visit.

The simple, single-step, plug-in mechanism of the Plug & Play concept allows patients to easily insert a standard vial into their device, removes the need to transfer drugs between containers and reduces the steps to prepare an injection. Once the vial is inserted into the wearable injector, the patient simply presses the play button and the injection starts – removing the stress and anxiety associated with more complex devices, and letting the patient get on with their life.

The Plug & Play concept has colour-coded feedback – visible through the vial – and a clear view of the drug, which helps patients keep track of how the injection is progressing. Its flexible design converts any standard-sized vial into a ready-to-use drug container – allowing a range of biological drug volumes to be injected. This also means that pharmaceutical companies do not have to carry out extra tests for using additional drug containers. As a result, the regulatory pathway for new drugs becomes less complex – and time to market for crucial biological drugs is reduced.

The Plug & Play wearable pump was awarded a Red Dot at the 2016 gala event in Singapore.