Crossject, a spin-off of the Fournier pharmaceutical laboratories, located at Chenove in Burgundy (France) has succeeded in combining mechanics and pharmacy and developed a single-use "needle-free" injection system. The disposable, automatic, pre-filled system injections can be used intradermally, subcutaneously and intramuscularly. "10% of the world's population is completely terrified at the idea of the slightest injection and 30% are partially or totally intractable" underlines Patrick Alexandre, CEO of Crossject.The Zeneo device is the fruit of over twelve years of multidisciplinary R&D with key partners (GlaxoSmithKline, Société Nationale des Poudres et Explosifs (SPNE), and the Austrian firm Hirtenberger), and an investment of £47 million. This device is protected by 403 patents. The Crossject injector uses a technique derived from the one used in the automotive industry for the design of airbags and seat belt pretensioners. Gas compresses a drug dose at pressures of up to 250 bars in 50 milliseconds through nozzles  in contact with the patient's skin. The system includes an actuator, a striker mechanism, a gas generator that leads to a gas discharge chamber, an elastic membrane joined to a 0.1-0.6 ml pharmaceutical drug glass tube and nozzles.This single-use device has been developed with three generic drugs in the treatment of anaphylactic or allergic shock (generic adrenalin), rhumatoid polyarthritis (methotrexate) and acute migraine (Sumatriptan). A licence agreement has been signed for two Crossject surpergeneric products (adrenalin and methotrexate) that are scheduled for marketing next year. The medtech company has identified 900 injectable products, 200 of which are compatible with its injector. Crossject is planning to develop 20 of these 200 drugs as a priority. The company from Dijon is riding on the crest of a very promising wave. The global pre-filled syringe market is a very buoyant one. In Europe, the improved injectable delivery market is valued at £4 billion and should reach £10 billion in 2017 thanks to an annual growth of 12.7% (3). In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates the number of units of pre-filled syringes sold in 2010 at 2 billion.The French medtech company is going to roll out its strategy on royalty-free drugs through the development of products by signing licence agreements with pharmaceutical or biotechnology laboratories. "Our aim is to gradually replace existing drug self-administration systems such as pre-filled insulin pens and open new markets in indications where there is currently no self-administration solution," states Patrick Alexandre. Crossject, which has fifteen employees, draws on the support of industrial partners who are experts in their sector: Hitenberger the Austrian air bag manufacturer for the injector actuator, the German Schott for the mechanical reinforcement of the glass, the plastic packaging manufacturers Rexam (Great-Britan) and the Swedish company Recipharm for aseptic drug filling. The strategy has paid off because Crossject carried out a very successful IPO on the Paris stock exchange, raising £13.5 million.