West, Venus Remedies partner to launch safe syringes

West Pharmaceutical Services (West), provider of injectable drug administration, has announced its partnership with domestic Indian pharma company Venus Remedies, whose brand Cloti-X has made its introduction in the growing low molecular weight heparin market and has adopted the NovaGuard SA Pro safety system, a single-use accessory for prefilled ISO standard 1mL long staked-needle syringes.

The NovaGuard SA Pro safety system has also won the India Packaging Awards for Excellence in Enhanced User Experience and Excellence in Packaging Design - Shapes and Structures during the UBM InnoPack Pharma Conference's India Packaging Awards ceremony.

According to West, the NovaGuard SA Pro safety system is a product with innovative safety features that help protect healthcare workers and patients from accidental needle-stick injuries. The company claimed that several biopharmaceutical manufacturers have commented that the product delivers a compelling total cost of ownership. “It prevents pre-activation, offers a lower syringe snap-in force and a lower activation force for end-user comfort, and mitigates the practice of recapping, which helps to provide tamper evidence to customers,” it added.

Alagu Subramaniam, managing director, West India said, "We at West are committed to improving patients' health and are excited to extend our partnership with Venus Remedies on this new product launch, by delivering unique and innovative packaging products and services. This partnership helps us bring the benefits of our innovative NovaGuard SA Pro safety system to the Indian market, and we will continue to extend the range of our innovative solutions to local customers and patients worldwide."

The NovaGuard SA Pro safety system has been designed to prevent pre-activation during handling. It includes tamper-resistant functionality, provides transparency for drug inspection and labelling and has an ease-of-use assembly.

Speaking on the partnership, Saransh Chaudhary, chief executive officer at Venus Medicine Research Centre said: "We are delighted to enter into a partnership with West to produce Cloti-Xa PFS with the innovative NovaGuard SA Pro safety system in India. Cloti-Xa is expected to provide patients and healthcare providers with an additional advantage of safety from accidental needle-stick injuries, which could lead to the spread of infections such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C.

“So far, no other enoxaparin formulation in India seems to offer this additional benefit apart from the innovator brand. Enoxaparin use has increased significantly in ICUs after it has been found useful in reducing hospitalization and mortality in Covid-19 patients. I am positive that it is going to be a high-yielding addition to our portfolio, and we intend to add more such innovative products into our product line."

The NovaGuard SA Pro 1mL safety system has FDA 510k clearance in the US and meets the European 2010/32/EU directive for the prevention of sharps injuries. Designed for both cut and circular syringe flanges, the NovaGuard SA Pro safety system has design features that lock when used and has minimal impact upon syringe filling lines.