November 2014

Oval Medical received £25,000 to contribute to market research for its new, innovative epinephrine autoinjector for the treatment of anaphylactic shock. The incidence of allergies that can cause this serious and potentially fatal reaction is growing worldwide.

Oval’s epinephrine autoinjector incorporates the same design philosophy as the first device being used for sumatriptan. It is small, robust and highly intuitive in use. A simple two step actuation is all that is required. Simply remove the cap and inject. The device is much smaller than existing products and has been designed to accommodate a longer needle to ensure intramuscular injection, a feature expected to become required by regulatory authorities as the result of the increase in average body mass.

A US study into 32 deaths from anaphylactic shock revealed that the victims were mainly young adults or adolescents who were aware of their condition but who were not carrying their epinephrine device at the time of the crisis. A further study in 2012 identified device size and design as key factors for this age group. A small, less conspicuous, device is more likely to be carried than the large bulky devices shown above that do not easily fit into a pocket.
The market research will seek the opinions of healthcare professionals, patients and parents of young patients on the design of the Oval device and the potential impact on the willingness of young people to carry it.