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REXAM LAUNCHES NOVELIATM, THE NEW PRESERVATIVE FREE MULTIDOSE EYEDROPPER

Wednesday 01. December 2010 - Preservatives have been linked to side effects and allergic reactions. Their use in chronic treatments should be avoided whenever possible. This is especially true for ophthalmic therapies due to the sensitivity of the eye. However, in order to maintain convenience for patients and thus compliance, it has been a challenge to create ergonomic multidose preservative free devices.

Most multidose eyedroppers contain preservatives. The most well-known is the so-called “BAK”: Benzalkonium chloride. In ophthalmic chronic use this preservative may cause damage to the cornea. [1]
The most widely used preservative free ophthalmic solution is the unidose. This solution is expensive since it requires single use and is not very convenient: small sized unidose are difficult to open especially for elderly people with arthritis. It also requires specific filling equipment for pharma labs.
Rexam has developed a preservative free multidose eyedropper solution “NoveliaTM”.
The key benefit for patients is that usage is similar to a “classic” multidose eyedropper. This device is able to calibrate droplets, which improves compliance.
For ophthalmic pharma companies, NoveliaTM offers major advantages :
– to be compatible with existing filling lines,
– to handle a wide range of drug viscosities and
– to be easier to use for patients than unidose.
The key requirement for such a device is the microbiological sterility for treatment duration (28 days). NoveliaTM has been tested and confirmed content sterility and drop non-contamination for 28 days.
NoveliaTM represents a major innovation in ophthalmic drug delivery device by providing patients a preservative free alternative for chronic treatments with a patient-friendly package.
[1] reference : « Ophthalmic Preservatives : Past, Present and future » Terry Kim, MD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology Duke University School of Medecine Associate Director Cornea and refractive Surgery Services Duke University Eye center