West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. , a global leader in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration, is pleased to announce that the NovaGuard® SA Pro safety system – a single-use accessory for prefilled ISO standard 1mL long staked-needle syringes – has won the India Packaging Awards for Excellence in Enhanced User Experience and Excellence in Packaging Design – Shapes and Structures. In addition, the company announced a new product line extension to its AccelTRA® component program, and showcased thought leadership with presentations at the UBM InnoPack Pharma Conference in Mumbai.

The prestigious India Packaging Awards, presented on May 21, 2019 during a ceremony held at the Sahara Star Hotel, are an initiative by UBM to honor the best innovations in the Pharma Packaging space.

“West is honored to receive this prestigious recognition for our NovaGuard SA Pro needle safety system, which is designed to help prevent accidental needlestick injuries,” said Eric Resnick, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Innovation & Technology at West. “We appreciate that needlestick injuries are a serious concern for healthcare practitioners, so we developed the NovaGuard system to provide care providers with greater control and protection from potentially life-threatening exposure to harmful diseases when administering injections.”  

The NovaGuard SA Pro 1mL device has FDA 510k clearance in the U.S. and meets the European 2010/32/EU directive for the prevention of sharps injuries.  Additionally, it can be deployed using a single-handed technique and was designed to prevent pre-activation during the handling of prefilled syringes (PFS). The system is compatible with ISO standard 1mL long glass staked-needle syringes and is transparent for ease of drug extraction, inspection and delivery. The design also facilitates easy assembly of glass prefilled syringes with minimal change parts and changeover time to existing assembly equipment for manufacturers. Additional features of the safety device system include:

• Tamper resistant functionality
• Low syringe snap-in force for assembly with PFS
• Compatibility with standard plunger rods

West also announced during the InnoPack conference that ready-to-sterilize and ready-to-use gamma sterilized AccelTRA Elastomer Components will soon be available for customers requiring high-performing elastomer components for premium domestic needs or for export to the EU. An extension of the high-performing 4031/45 formula, the components will be available in 13mm and 20mm serum and lyo stopper configurations. The 20mm serum configuration is currently available for sampling and commercial orders; remaining configurations will be available in the coming months.

Additionally, West showcased the following thought leadership at the conference:

• Panel Discussion: Moving Beyond the Value Proposition of Cost Advantage in the Packaging Industry

Moderator: Chris Ryan, Vice President, Global Generics, West

• Latest in Trends: Primary Packaging Solutions for Generic Injectables & Needle Safety Systems

Presenters:  Milagro Lopez – Director, Segment Marketing, Generics, West

           Kok Li Kwang – Manager, Technical Support, Asia Pacific, West