Use of the Uniject™ injection system for prompt delivery of antibiotics

For newborns with serious bacterial infections, getting antibiotics right away can mean the difference between life and death. The Uniject injection system (Uniject) can help.

More than a million babies die each year from infections during the first month of life. Getting rapid treatment in developing countries is especially challenging in rural areas, where hospitals and clinics are scarce and community health workers provide many essential services. Prefilled, easy-to-use Uniject makes it feasible for community health workers and birth attendants to give antibiotics in community locations or homes when infections are first detected.

With standard injections of the antibiotic gentamicin using a needle and syringe, dosing is adjusted according to the patient’s weight. Because Uniject delivers a fixed dose, PATH supported a study to identify safe and therapeutic fixed-dosing intervals for newborns.

PATH has partnered with the Instituto Biologico Argentino, an Argentine pharmaceutical manufacturer, to conduct research and development and product registration needed to make gentamicin in Uniject commercially available. PATH has also collaborated with the Morang Innovative Neonatal Intervention (MINI) Program to evaluate the first field use of the product in Nepal. We are currently exploring additional opportunities for use around the globe.

Uniject is a trademark of BD.

Photographer: Penny Dawson.