DCA Design International has won the Grand Prix award at the 2009 DBA Design Effectiveness Awards for the SoloStar insulin injector pen it created for Sanofi Aventis.

Plastics-based product designs have done well in the Design Business Association awards, which are unique in using sales data for designs already in the marketplace to highlight the commercial impact of good design. In 2007, London Associates also won the prestigious Grand Prix award for the Optac digital tachograph device it designed for Stoneridge Electronics.

Sanofi Aventis briefed Warwick-based DCA to design a new injector that would deliver a single dose of 80 insulin units by using a very low injection force to minimize discomfort for the patient.

In its entry, DCA said: “Since its launch in 2007, SoloStar has rapidly established itself as a leading disposable pen injector for insulin, accounting for 41% of all growth in the global injectable insulin market in 2008.”

A DBA awards judge described SoloStar as “an outstanding example of great design, combining functional style, performance and excellent presentation. The clear combination of commercial success and excellent user and physician feedback make this a worthy winner.”

In the product design category of the 2009 awards, a gold award was given to London group PDD for the UnoMeter Safeti Plus urine monitoring device for catheterised patients. In 2008 the new product generated sales 50% higher than expected by PDD’s client Unomedical.

Winning a silver award in the category was Glasgow-based Fearsomengine, for the BladeRunner plasterboard cutting tool it designed for its client Artex which exceeded 2008 target sales by 320%. The plastic and metal device incorporates an innovative magnetic loop which allows the user to score both sides of a piece of plasterboard simultaneously.