As Designs Improve, Retractable Safety Syringes Set to Reach $350 Million

Safety legislation continues to drive the market for safety syringe devices.

[ClickPress, Fri Jun 29 2007] Concern over sharps cross-contamination and caregiver safety continues to drive technology and commercial innovation in the safety syringe sector. Following the lead of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act in the U.S., government regulations regarding syringe needle handling and disposal continue to proliferate worldwide, fostering increased demand in the use of safety syringes. For retractable safety syringes, arguably the most elegant and costly approach, the U.S. market is expected to reach $350 million, representing an annual growth rate of 13 percent.

The market for safety syringes is being driven by worker safety concerns and the regulatory activity resulting from these concerns. In an average hospital, workers incur approximately 30 needle stick or other sharps injuries per 100 beds per year. Research shows that as many as 60% of incidents remain unreported. Laboratory and other technical support staff are also exposed to risk. CDC has recommended that needles not be recapped and, if they must be recapped, that a method other than the traditional two-handed technique be used. The alternatives to recapping include the use of safety syringes or the disposal of uncapped needles into permanent sealable containers (e.g., sharps containers).

The refinement of safety syringe and safety needle designs has helped close the price gap with naked disposable syringes, and this development along with needlestick legislation is increasing the safety syringe market share in North America at the expense of traditional syringes. This trend is occurring at a much slower rate in Europe, where the time lag of safety legislation has syringe usage still being primarily influenced for the most part by healthcare economics.

Retractable Safety Syringes: Players, Products, and Prospects, a recently released report, analyzes commercial devices, market participants, and key regulatory and technology factors influencing this market and shaping the growth curve over the next four years. It is available from Greystone Associates by visiting

http://www.greystoneassociates.org/Safety%20Syringes.htm


More information is also available at www.greystoneassociates.org .

About Greystone

Greystone Associates is a medical and healthcare technology consulting firm providing services in strategic planning, venture development, product commercialization, and technology and market assessment.

Contact:

Mark Smith
Voice: 603-595-4340
Fax: 603-804-0466
www.greystoneassociates.org
Source: Greystone Associates

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