Sandoz Pharmaceuticals has announced the immediate availability of their emergency epinephrine device in pharmacies nationwide.
The device, named “Symjepi”, is not an auto-injector but a prefilled syringe. The difference may be important for some and not for others.
The syringe that delivers the epinephrine in an auto-injector is typically hidden until it is activated by a jab to the outer thigh, at which point the needle is inserted into the muscle and the epinephrine is automatically administered. A prefilled syringe is what the name implies: a syringe that already has a dose of medication loaded where one needs to insert the needle and press the plunger to administer the epinephrine.
Here is a video describing how Symjepi is administered:
Like auto-injectors, Symjepi is available in 0.15mg doses for children 33-65 lbs and 0.3mg doses for people 66 lbs and over and are sold in twin-packs.
Symjepi is a welcome addition to the market for emergency epinephrine and should help alleviate shortages caused by the spotty availability of Mylan’s EpiPen, the market leader.
