Ceepackaging

Events

Award given to shield in Poznan

At its meeting in Poznan (Poland,) the
international jury of twenty-four experts valued both the
concept of this new type of needle shield as well as its
technical implementation as a pioneering innovative overall
achievement. The official award ceremony was held in
Rosemont, Chicago (USA) in May 2007.
As an accessory for prefillable sterile syringes which are marketed by
Gerresheimer throughout the world under the trademark RTF®
(Ready to Fill), the Rigid Needle Shield was developed in close
collaboration with pharmacists and doctors in the Gerresheimer
technology centre for syringe systems in Gerresheimer Bünde GmbH.
The plastic cap, which is placed firmly over the needle in the new
syringe and can easily be replaced after the injection, has an
impenetrable shell and a flexible lining. Together these two
elements protect the delicate needle against damage and, more
effectively than ever before, avoid needle-prick injuries to those
handling syringes in the practice or during their disposal. A special
feature is the manufacturing process itself: the precision part made
of two different plastics of equal suitability for pharmaceutical
purposes is moulded as one unit in a single extrusion process.
Gerresheimer supplies its RTF® syringes – including this accessory – to
the pharmaceutical industry ready assembled, siliconised and
sterilised so that they then only need to be filled with the
medication and closed with the plunger. The company is also a step ahead in the market competition as a result of such innovations:
“The Rigid Needle Shield leads the way in its field – a really
ingenious development,” is the enthusiastic comment of Burkhard
Lingenberg, Director of Marketing and Corporate PR for the
Gerresheimer Group. “It marks the realisation of yet another
sensible idea for which the market has evidently been waiting.” All
round the globe, demand for the ‘intelligently’ designed Ready-to-
Fill syringes is booming, he adds.
Last year the jury for the German Packaging Prize had already
recognised the potential of this user-friendly product and with its
award clearly made a far-sighted decision. This also opened up the
way to the global WPO contest, for which only the best in the world
are eligible. This time a total of 264 top candidates from 35
countries competed for the ‘WorldStar’.