Intradermal Injection Device Fires Liquid Vaccine Stream

The PharmaJet Intradermal (ID) Needle-free Injection System is a single-use, sterile, autodisable needle-free syringe with a spring-powered energy source that creates an optimal pressure profile, which delivers a 0.1 mL dose of the required solution in a narrow, high velocity fluid stream to intradermal tissue depths, penetrating the skin in less than 1/3 of a second. The device decreases the required dose volume by 80%, thus reducing the overall cost of vaccine delivery, and also eliminates needle-stick risk and the burden of sharps waste management.

The single-use disposable syringe is made of medical grade polypropylene, resulting in a product that not only costs less, but also is durable and compatible with both liquid and lyophilized medications. The syringe can be filled at the time of injection from either single or multidose standard vials, using a proprietary vial adapter. The system has been well received in the developed world, and is also extremely advantageous in the third world due to its usability, affordability, and inherent safety features.

The PharmaJet ID Needle-free Injection System is a product of PharmaJet (Golden, CO, USA), and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition to this newly cleared ID device, PharmaJet also markets needle-free systems for intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) injection, delivering vaccines and liquid medications in a 0.5 mL volume.

"This is important technology and we are pleased to have the first FDA-cleared needle-free ID injection system,” said James Bowman, President of PharmaJet. "PharmaJet is proud to be the leader in needle-free injection technology, revolutionizing the way vaccines are delivered.”

Jet injection delivery of liquid medications has existed in various forms since the 1860's, and in the 1950's the US military developed their own high-speed models for mass vaccination programs. Common features of such historic jet injectors were gas-powered energy sources combined with a multiuse nozzle interface (MUNJI). Both of these features led to inherent delivery problems, ranging from skin laceration to cross-contamination with blood-borne pathogens between patients, leading to their discontinuation in 1971.

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