Innovation that reduces costs and carbon footprint

The Nolava autoinjector pen is a virtual example of a type of medical device developed by Nolato to illustrate our offering in the development stage. An autoinjector enables the patient to self-dose an injected drug with ease.   

The same concept was used in the development of an equivalent product for a large pharma customer. In its original design, a mix of the plastics PC (polycarbonate) and ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) was used to manufacture parts of the autoinjector. This resulted in a technically advanced plastic with high tensile and impact strength, but that had a high carbon footprint. To explore opportunities to reduce the footprint yet still maintain the important technical qualities, our Technical Design Center (TDC) contacted a raw material supplier concerning the possibility of using PP (polypropylene) plastic – a simpler type of plastic with broad use in numerous applications.  

Tests showed that it was possible to switch from PC and ABS plastic to PP plastic for small components without changing existing molds. The advantages of PP plastic are that the material is both cheaper and lower in density, giving important cost savings for the customer, enabling them to buy less material at a lower price per kilo. However, the greatest benefit is that this plastic type has a significantly lower carbon footprint – up to 70% – compared with the original plastic types. That way, Nolato succeeded, through innovation and a new approach at the design stage, in demonstrating how to reduce not only the customer’s costs, but also the product’s climate impact.