710111Reusable Medical Auto-injector ("SafeClick-Reusable")ClosedGRD Proof of ConceptInnovate UKAuto injectors (AI) are devices that allow patients to give themselves injections more accurately and safely then with needles and syringes and with less pain. Such devices free patients from healthcare environments and provide a massive cost saving for the patients and healthcare funders as patients can easily self-treat at home or work without having to take time off to attend expensive health care clinics. Most injectable drugs are now provided in prefilled syringes (PFS) to avoid the risks of tampering, mis-dosing and counterfeiting. For the expensive drugs administered typically once a month or fortnightly, most drugs are supplied in single-use disposable auto-injectors, where the auto-injector cost is a secondary consideration. However, many low cost generic drugs supplied as pre-filled syringes (e.g methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis) cannot justify the additional pharmacy cost of a disposable auto-injector. These patients have the cost and inconvenience of having to attend a clinic once a week for injection. The aim of this project is to develop a product aimed at this unmet market need ie., for a reusable needle-safe and fully automatic AI for delivery of low cost generic drugs supplied in PFS. Patients will reload this reusable device with the PFS rather than using a disposable device for each injection. Self-injection away from the clinic enabled by an automatic reusable auto-injector designed for MTX injection by dexterity impaired RA patients would save the NHS hundreds of millions a year and offer significant lifestyle improvement. These patients struggle to hold a needle and syringe let alone inject, while emerging global needle-stick regulations are making needle-safe devices mandatory to reduce the 1 million needle-stick injuries p.a. in the EU. Additional follow-on opportunities exist for the reusable device with different drugs requiring regular injection, these include Somatotropin, Imigran, adrenaline and glucagon.