Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD) on March 7 announced the launch of first-of-its-kind Dispojekt single-use syringes that come with a safety needle.

The new safety syringes will help to reduce the prevalence of accidental needle stick injuries (NSIs) among health workers, and infection risk as well as control the cost of disposal and training.

The company, in a statement, said it aims to produce 200 million syringes and needles per annum.

"Dispojekt safety needle syringes are going to be the game changer in the global fight against NSIs. We are aiming to initially produce 200 million syringes and needles per annum for which we have invested approximately Rs 70 crore in the first phase," said the Executive Director, in the statement.

"In the second phase, we will increase the capacity to 300 million pieces per annum by investing another Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore," he added.

The overall prevalence of NSIs in India in 2021 was 20.1 per cent, according to a recent study in the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health.

It has been observed that NSIs prevalence among nurses was 31.3 per cent, technicians 37.5 per cent, ward boys and other staff 15 per cent, and sweepers of public and private hospitals 15.6 per cent.

HMD produces over 4 billion injection needles per annum, catering to the needs of its primary markets comprising India, Europe, the US, the Middle East, and its secondary markets of Southeast Asia and Africa.