Terumo AD Syringes and Glaxo SmithKline Biologicals will contribute to safer injection practices in emerging markets

Terumo Europe announces that it has recently started to cooperate with Glaxo SmithKline Biologicals for a major contribution to international public health by supplying Terumo Auto-Disable syringes, which will be used to deliver vaccines in emerging countries.

Glaxo SmithKline was the first vaccine manufacturer to take this initiative in March 2001, which will save lives and contribute to safer injection practices. The auto-disable syringes, developed and manufactured by Terumo, will be delivered to emerging markets by GSK with vials of its liquids pediatric vaccines. The key feature of Terumo AD-Syringes is the locking mechanism, which locks the plunger once the syringe plunger is depressed. This means that Terumo AD-Syringes is preventing the re-use of the syringes.

By bundling of vaccines and Terumo AD-Syringes, Glaxo SmithKline responds to the request of the WHO expert committee to supply the necessary equipment for injection along with the vaccines.

Worldwide, each year, the overuse of injections and unsafe injection practices combine to cause an estimated 8 to 16 million hepatitis B virus infections, 2.3 to 4.7 million hepatitis C virus infection and 180,000 to 160,000 HIV infections. It's the reason why WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA urged all countries and all partners of immunization services to use auto-disable syringes as equipment of choice for administering vaccines, for all elective and emergency campaigns.

Source: PRNewswire