IDC Designs Insulin Pens for Indian Market

Award winning product designer, Industrial Design Consultancy Ltd (IDC), has just completed a project to develop both disposable and reusable insulin pens for Indian consumers. The resulting products are expected to dramatically advance diabetes treatment in India, by offering a portable, discreet, quick and easy insulin dosage system for users on the move.

Indian company, Wockhardt, was keen to introduce affordable disposable and reusable insulin pens to Indian healthcare but the patent restrictions on existing designs were such that they were unable to cost-effectively go into production. In order to overcome this, Wockhardt contracted IDC to design a completely new insulin pen, which would give class-leading functionality and avoid all the existing patents. Virtually all elements of the conventional insulin pens were patented, so IDC was challenged to find successful design alternatives, which also resulted in an improved product.

It was important that the insulin pens were designed to be compact and discreet, with an easy dosing facility for people with vision or dexterity problems. IDC’s in-house engineers worked closely with its product designers to ensure that use-ability was a key priority. The pens are manufactured entirely from plastic and the internal mechanisms developed give an audible and sensory click when setting and delivering a dose. They also allow dose resetting without wasting medicine, and the reusable product features a magnifying dose window.

The final insulin pen design was the size of a marker pen. Wockhardt’s reusable insulin pen contains a cartridge of insulin, which provides enough insulin to last for several days. The cartridge is simply replaced when it becomes empty – this reusable pen could be used for several years with good care. The disposable insulin pens come filled with insulin and are thrown away when empty.

IDC also project managed the development, working across continents to gain ISO approvals, support patent applications, oversee the production of high precision tooling in Taiwan and scale up to manufacturing in India.

“In satisfying the demands of the Indian market, we have helped Wockhardt to make a truly world class product which they have protected with international patents,” comments IDC’s Managing Director, Stephen Knowles. “Manufacturing such complex devices entirely from plastic is a real feat of design and engineering which we hope will enable many more people to have access to convenient diabetes care.”