The Plug & Play concept is designed to cope with biological drugs - used to treat 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.
Injecting biologics using traditional methods can take considerable time, require multiple painful injections, restrict a patient’s freedom of movement during the injection and require a hospital visit. Plug & Play was developed at Cambridge Consultants as a wearable injector that removes those barriers.
The simple, single-step, plug-in mechanism allows patients to insert a standard vial into their device, removes the need to transfer drugs between containers and reduces the steps needed 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.
Plug & Play has colour-coded feedback - visible through the vial - and a clear view of the drug, helping patients keep track of how the injection is progressing. Its flexible design converts any standard-sized vial into a ready-to-use container, so a range of biological drug volumes can be injected and pharmaceutical companies do not have to carry out extra tests for additional containers. 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.
Work undertaken whilst an employee of Cambridge Consultants.
