Drug delivery device having a needle guard mechanism with a turnable threshold of resistance to needle guard movement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12551623-B2
Application number	US-202318374288-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2023
Priority date	Feb 27, 2015
Publication date	Feb 17, 2026
Grant date	Feb 17, 2026

Abstract

A device for drug delivery includes a casing for housing a drug storage container including a dose delivery member. At least a portion of the dose delivery member extends through an opening in the casing. A guard is movable relative to the casing between an extended position and a retracted position. An interference arrangement provides a selected threshold of resistance to movement of the guard from the extended position to the retracted position during insertion of the dose delivery member into body tissue at an injection site. The interference arrangement has a first member and a second member engaging one another to retain the guard in the extended position. One of the first member and the second member moving if the selected threshold of resistance is exceeded to allow the first member and second member to slide past one another to allow the guard to move into the retracted position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A drug delivery device comprising:
a casing having an opening and a wall with an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein at least a portion of the outer surface of the wall of the casing defines at least a portion of an exterior of the drug delivery device; a drug storage container; a needle coupled with the drug storage container and comprising a portion disposed outside of the drug storage container; a needle guard disposed adjacent to the opening in the casing from which the needle is configured to extend, the needle guard being movable relative to the casing between an extended position for surrounding the needle and a retracted position for exposing the needle, the needle, prior to operation of the drug delivery device when the needle guard is in the extended position, extending through the opening in the casing such that at least a proximal end of the portion of the needle is inside of the casing and at least a distal end of the portion of the needle is outside of the casing; and an interference arrangement configured to provide a selected threshold of resistance that must be overcome in order to move the needle guard from the extended position to the retracted position, the interference arrangement having a first member protruding directly from or recessed directly into the inner surface of the wall of the casing, and a second member associated with the needle guard, the first member and the second member contacting each other when the needle guard is in the extended position, wherein at least one of the first member and the second member is coupled with a flexible arm such that upon application of an axial force urging the needle guard from the extended position toward the retracted position, the flexible arm flexes to move one of the first member and the second member radially away from the other one of the first member and the second member to allow relative movement between the first member and the second member.

2 . The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the needle guard surrounds the distal end of the portion of the needle when in the extended position and does not surround the distal end of the portion of the needle when in the retracted position.

3 . The drug delivery device of claim 2 , wherein the drug storage container comprises a syringe.

4 . The drug delivery device of claim 2 , wherein the drug storage container further comprises a stopper movably disposed in the drug storage container for expelling a drug, and the drug delivery device further comprising an injection drive mechanism comprising a plunger for acting on the stopper and an energy source for exerting a force on the plunger to cause the plunger to act on the stopper to expel the drug.

5 . The drug delivery device of claim 2 , further comprising a drug stored in the drug storage container.

6 . The drug delivery device of claim 5 , wherein the drug is selected from a group consisting of TNF inhibitors, antibodies to a calcitonin gene- related peptide receptor, colony stimulating factors, erythropoiesis stimulating agents, apelin receptor agonists, anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin antibodies, anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietinreceptor antibodies, antibodies that bind human Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases.

7 . The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein one of the first member and the second member comprises a cam and the other one of the first member and the second member comprises a cam follower.

8 . The drug delivery device of claim 7 , wherein the cam follower is biased against the cam.

9 . The drug delivery device of claim 7 , wherein the cam follower is coupled with the flexible arm, and the flexible arm is configured to apply a bias force against the cam.

10 . The drug delivery device of claim 9 , wherein the cam follower further comprises a projection disposed at or adjacent to a free end of the flexible arm.

11 . The drug delivery device of claim 9 , wherein the cam follower further comprises a groove disposed at or adjacent to a free end of the flexible arm.

12 . The drug delivery device of claim 7 , wherein the cam comprises an immovable continuous bead or segmented circumferential bead.

13 . The drug delivery device of claim 7 , wherein the cam comprises an immovable groove.

14 . The drug delivery device of claim 7 , wherein the first member comprises the cam and the second member comprises the cam follower.

15 . The drug delivery device of claim 7 , wherein the first member comprises the cam follower and the second member comprises the cam.

16 . The delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the needle guard at least partially enters the casing in the retracted position.

17 . The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the inner surface of the wall of the casing is integrally formed with the at least the portion of the outer surface of the wall of the casing defining the at least the portion of the exterior of the drug delivery device.

18 . The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the inner surface of the wall of the casing faces inwardly toward the drug storage container.

19 . The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the needle is fixedly coupled with the drug storage container such that the needle does not move relative to the drug storage container during movement of the needle guard from the extended position to the retracted position.

Assignees

• Amgen Inc

Inventors

• Gibson Scott R
• Moberg Sheldon

Classifications

• A61M5/3202

  Devices for protection of the needle before use, e.g. caps (A61M5/50 takes precedence; for infusion spikes A61M5/1626; protectors for sharps A61B50/3001) · CPC title

• A61M2005/2013

  triggering of discharging means by contact of injector with patient body · CPC title

• A61M5/3243

  being axially-extensible, e.g. protective sleeves coaxially slidable on the syringe barrel (devices for protecting guide needles in combination with catheters A61M25/0612) · CPC title

• A61M5/24

  Ampoule syringes, i.e. syringes with needle for use in combination with replaceable ampoules or carpules, e.g. automatic {(ampoules or carpules A61J1/06)} · CPC title

• A61M5/20 Primary

  Automatic syringes, e.g. with automatically actuated piston rod, with automatic needle injection, filling automatically (A61M5/142 {, A61M5/46} take precedence; {hypodermic projectiles F42B12/54}) · CPC title