NFC label provides patient guidance and reporting for autoinjector

Working with a Swiss autoinjector company, Ypsomed, Schreiner MediPharm has developed a smart label (featuring near-field-communications [NFC] connectivity) that provides critical product-identification information. The overall package will be able both to identify what product unit a patient has received, and then record its use while providing patient instruction at the same time. The NFC chip also authenticates the medicine and checks its expiration date.

Ypsomed has developed a two-part autoinjector: the injector itself, branded as YpsoMate, and an add-on electronic device, branded as SmartPilot. In practice, a patient will insert the YpsoMate (identified by the NFC label) into the SmartPilot. SmartPilot registers the product information and provides the instructions to the patient (viewable on a smartphone) on how to administer. The information about the medication stored on the NFC chip is transmitted via the SmartPilot to a related smartphone app via Bluetooth connection. Once the dosage has been applied, SmartPilot records the usage data and tranmits it to a smartphone. The smartphone connection, in turn, can deliver usage data to healthcare providers or other patient-support resources, thus providing a pathway for collecting data on adherence and the patient experience.

“The integration of NFC technology, which has to ensure reliable reading, in a very small space posed the primary challenge in this label development. Subsequent ease of processing was another specified objective,” explains Arne Rehm, product manager, RFID/NFC Solutions, at Schreiner MediPharm.

“The cooperation between Ypsomed and Schreiner MediPharm yielded an innovative and complete solution for pharmaceutical manufacturers, who are now able to provide patients with the SmartPilot, a valuable tool supporting them in self-medication efforts,” adds Andreas Schneider, innovation & business development manager at Ypsomed. In recent months, Ypsomed has announced its participation, via the YpsoMate autoinjector, in the commercialization of Mylan’s Hulio product, an adalimumab biosimilar approved for use in Europe, and also a partnership with Royal Philips to connect with the latter’s cloud-based HealthSuite Digital Platform.