HMD achieves auto disposable syringe capacity of over 1 billion per year

Medical equipment maker Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices Ltd (HMD) on Saturday said it has achieved its target to produce over 1 billion 0.5 ml AD syringes for COVID-19 vaccination per year.

The company has also achieved the milestone of producing over 1 crore pieces of assorted size of syringes daily, HMD said in a statement.

"HMD's top priority right now is to help the Government to combat the pandemic. HMD had been ensuring continuity of supply chain and its manufacturing plants, to ensure no shortages in India for its critically needed disposable devices during the Covid crisis," HMD Managing Director Rajiv Nath said.

The company is a key supplier of critically needed syringes to COVAX facility of WHO via UNICEF, Brazil and Japan for COVID vaccination while being on track to supplying four orders received from the Indian government on 0.5 ml AD syringes totalling 44.25 crore pieces of which 36.5 crore pieces has been timely supplied by July end to help the COVID-19 vaccination in India, HMD said.

The remaining vaccines will be supplied by September, it added.

"From 50 crore pieces per annum capacity of 0.5 ml AD syringes in June 2020, we increased production rate to 80 crore per annum in May 2021 and currently we have achieved our target capacity of producing 100 crore AD syringes and next hopefully 125 crore pieces per annum by March 2022, for this one size alone," HMD said, adding 0.5 ml is the size sought by public healthcare in India and most countries for COVID vaccination.