Unifill ready-to-fill safety syringes to hit markets soon

Oct 27 2009

Unilife Medical Solutions Limited ("Unilife" or "the Company") (ASX: UNI) (PINKSHEETS: UNIFF) today announced it has commenced the filing of international trademarks for Unifill™, which will become the market brand for its portfolio of ready-to-fill safety syringes.

The product previously referred to on a pre-commercial basis as the Unilife Ready-to-Fill Syringe (or Unilife Prefilled Syringe) will henceforth be marketed and referred to as the Unifill™ syringe. The company also intends to market other products under the Unifill™ brand name that are currently in its development pipeline and targeted for supply to pharmaceutical companies.

Unilife has developed the Unifill™ brand to help the Company effectively market its expanding range of parenteral drug delivery products designed for use by pharmaceutical companies. Products intended to be marketed under the Unifill™ brand will be custom-designed for compatibility with the drug validation, dose filling and packaging systems of pharmaceutical manufacturers, and promote convenient, intuitive use by healthcare workers or patients who self-administer prescription medication.

The Unifill™ syringe currently being industrialised by Unilife in conjunction with its major pharmaceutical partner is considered to be the world's first ready-to-fill syringe with automatic (passive) safety features that are fully integrated within the glass barrel. The product is designed to be compatible with the standard drug filling and packaging systems of its pharmaceutical customers, and allow operators to control the rate of passive needle retraction directly from the body into the barrel of the syringe to protect those at risk of needlestick injury.

More than two billion prefilled syringes are currently used globally each year, with pharmaceutical companies rapidly transitioning to the use of products which can help them comply with needlestick prevention laws such as those currently enforced within the United States.

Unilife has previously filed and secured international trademarks for its Unitract™ brand, under which the Company currently manufacturers and markets its proprietary range of 1mL safety syringes. Unitract™ safety syringes feature a plastic barrel and are designed for use within healthcare facilities and by patients where prescription medication must be drawn up into the barrel from a vial or ampoule immediately prior to the injection. Unilife also has other products in its development pipeline that it intends to commercialize and market under the Unitract™ brand.

Mr. Alan Shortall, Chief Executive Officer of Unilife, said the filing of international trademarks for the Unifill™ brand was an important milestone in the Company's evolution.

"We expect that Unifill™ will become a premier global brand within the pharmaceutical industry for best-in-class ready-to-fill safety syringes," Mr. Shortall said.

"The launch of our Unifill™ at the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) Universe of Pre-filled Syringes and Injection Devices Conference and Exhibition in Venice, Italy this week sends a clear message to pharmaceutical companies and other industry stakeholders that we are committed to introducing a range of complementary technologies that will address the needs of our customers."