According to Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), one of the largest US suppliers of injection devices, there is a dire need of stocking ancillary devices including syringes, vials critical for vaccination.

“A country, like India, has only a short window of time to scale up syringe supplies in order to deal with the vast number of inoculations required to control the pandemic,” Pavan Mocherla, managing director, India/South Asia, BD, told Indian online media ThePrint.

“India will need to have 2.6 billion syringes and a time frame of almost two and a half years to vaccinate all India population,” he said.

Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator for Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED), estimated that around 900 million syringes would be required for just one shot of vaccine, considering 70% of the country is being vaccinated.

He is also the managing director of Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD), India’s biggest manufacturer of syringes

Notably, Rajiv Nath remarked that 8-10 billion syringes of various types globally would be required if 60% of the world’s population is immunized.

Indian makers gearing to meet massive demand

ThePrint reported that the syringe manufacturers in India are ramping up production capacities as the world awaits vaccination.

Among the leading manufacturers, HMD is planning to nearly double its production capacity from 570 million units to 1 billion units by the second quarter of 2021.

The auto disable syringes manufactured by Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD). 

Rajasthan-based Iscon Surgicals is also planning to expand its production capacity. The manufacturer’s current production capacity is 20 million units per month, which will be expanded to 75 million units.

Meanwhile, based on the increased interest, Iscon Surgicals has started placing the purchase orders for buying raw materials.

According to ThePrint, HMD and Iscon Surgicals supply half of the requirement for Indian government tenders for immunization drives. The other half is supplied by Chinese syringe maker, Wuxi Medical Appliances.

Different specifications depends on counties

There are several types of syringe requirements depending on a country’s requirement. For some African and Central American as well as Asian countries, including India and China, auto disable syringes are required. These syringes have plunger locking and in some cases breaking mechanism to prevent reuse.

For some North American and European countries, syringes with needle stick prevention features (caps on the needles) are produced to prevent healthcare workers from accidental injuries.

On the other hand, standard disposable syringes are used in some countries in Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia.

As said, while there are around 20 manufacturers of syringes in India, only HMD and Iscon Surgicals manufacture auto disable syringes which cannot be reused. Both players are confident in handling the anticipated surge if orders are placed on time.

Rajiv Nath emphasized that Indian syringe manufacturers need early intimation for boosting the capacities further, as the manufacturing requires precision and automation.

“Our (HMD’s) equipment is imported from Europe, Japan and other countries and requires placing orders nine months in advance. The industry will only place such expensive orders when the Government of India will make contractual arrangements with us,” he told ThePrint.

(Source: ThePrint)

According to Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), one of the largest US suppliers of injection devices, there is a dire need of stocking ancillary devices including syringes, vials critical for vaccination.

“A country, like India, has only a short window of time to scale up syringe supplies in order to deal with the vast number of inoculations required to control the pandemic,” Pavan Mocherla, managing director, India/South Asia, BD, told Indian online media ThePrint.

“India will need to have 2.6 billion syringes and a time frame of almost two and a half years to vaccinate all India population,” he said.

Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator for Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED), estimated that around 900 million syringes would be required for just one shot of vaccine, considering 70% of the country is being vaccinated.

He is also the managing director of Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD), India’s biggest manufacturer of syringes

Notably, Rajiv Nath remarked that 8-10 billion syringes of various types globally would be required if 60% of the world’s population is immunized.

Indian makers gearing to meet massive demand

ThePrint reported that the syringe manufacturers in India are ramping up production capacities as the world awaits vaccination.

Among the leading manufacturers, HMD is planning to nearly double its production capacity from 570 million units to 1 billion units by the second quarter of 2021.

The auto disable syringes manufactured by Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD). 

Rajasthan-based Iscon Surgicals is also planning to expand its production capacity. The manufacturer’s current production capacity is 20 million units per month, which will be expanded to 75 million units.

Meanwhile, based on the increased interest, Iscon Surgicals has started placing the purchase orders for buying raw materials.

According to ThePrint, HMD and Iscon Surgicals supply half of the requirement for Indian government tenders for immunization drives. The other half is supplied by Chinese syringe maker, Wuxi Medical Appliances.

Different specifications depends on counties

There are several types of syringe requirements depending on a country’s requirement. For some African and Central American as well as Asian countries, including India and China, auto disable syringes are required. These syringes have plunger locking and in some cases breaking mechanism to prevent reuse.

For some North American and European countries, syringes with needle stick prevention features (caps on the needles) are produced to prevent healthcare workers from accidental injuries.

On the other hand, standard disposable syringes are used in some countries in Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia.

As said, while there are around 20 manufacturers of syringes in India, only HMD and Iscon Surgicals manufacture auto disable syringes which cannot be reused. Both players are confident in handling the anticipated surge if orders are placed on time.

Rajiv Nath emphasized that Indian syringe manufacturers need early intimation for boosting the capacities further, as the manufacturing requires precision and automation.

“Our (HMD’s) equipment is imported from Europe, Japan and other countries and requires placing orders nine months in advance. The industry will only place such expensive orders when the Government of India will make contractual arrangements with us,” he told ThePrint.

(Source: ThePrint)