Antares Pharma (Ewing, New Jersey), a maker of injector technologies for drug delivery, has received FDA approval for the OTREXUP self injection device intended for patients with hard-to-treat cases of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. The disposable auto injector is the first FDA approved device for patients to administer methotrexate (Trexall, Rheumatrex) on their own once a week. The injector comes pre-filled with methotrexate, offering an option over the usually prescribed pills.

Injectable methotrexate has been available to deliver higher doses of the drug compared to pills, but this option required a weekly visit to a clinic. Now, with the self injector option, patients can avoid the weekly visit by administering the drug to themselves in the privacy of their homes. The single dose device, which delivers the drug subcutaneuosly, is recommended for patients who have no response to the first line of therapy for severe, active rheumatoid arthritis. Antares believes that the self administration option will lead to more physicians prescribing the injectable drug to their patients to control severe cases of arthritis, before more expensive drug options are tried as the last line of therapy. The company also understands that there are certain challenges to drug self-injection such as reduced manual dexterity, fear of needles, patients’ poor confidence to safely inject themselves using vials and needles. The market success of this injector will depend largely on overcoming these barriers.

source:Antares Pharma