Skip to content
Sign in

FlexTouch, KwikPen and multidose: what the packaging terms mean

A pharmacist in a white coat reads the plain label on a brown glass bottle taken from a wooden shelf

FlexTouch, KwikPen and multidose: what the packaging terms mean

  • Explainers
  • The Dose Club team
  • Updated

Pre-filled pen, multidose, strength, pack size, black triangle, marketing authorisation number. The words on a Wegovy or Mounjaro box, explained from the summaries of product characteristics.

The box a pen arrives in carries a dozen terms that are precise in a way everyday language is not. Each one is defined in the medicine's summary of product characteristics (SmPC), the document for healthcare professionals that sits beside the patient leaflet on the electronic medicines compendium. This article explains the terms from those documents. It does not cover storage temperatures or in-use periods, which belong to section 5 of your leaflet, and it says nothing about which strength anyone should use.

Pre-filled pen

Both medicines are supplied as a "solution for injection in pre-filled pen". The solution is the liquid medicine. Pre-filled means the pen arrives with the medicine already inside and is thrown away when it is finished; neither pen is refilled. The Wegovy leaflet says: "Do not try to refill your pen. Once empty, it must be disposed of."

FlexTouch is Novo Nordisk's name for the Wegovy pen and KwikPen is Eli Lilly's name for the Mounjaro pen. They are brand names for the device and appear in the product title on the box and in the leaflet.

Multidose, and four doses

Both pens are multidose pens. The Wegovy SmPC says: "This pen is for multi-use. It contains 4 doses." The Mounjaro SmPC says: "The pre-filled KwikPen is for multiple-doses. Each KwikPen contains 4 doses of 0.6 ml which can be administered." Because both medicines are used once a week, a pen covers four weeks, which is why the price tables on this site treat one pen as one month.

Both documents also explain the leftover. Wegovy: "After having injected the 4 doses, there might still be solution left in the pen despite having administered correctly. Any solution left is insufficient for a dose and the pen should be disposed of." Mounjaro: "Any excess solution in the pen after use should be discarded." The small amount that remains is expected.

Strength

The strength on the box is the amount of active substance in one dose. The emc lists Wegovy FlexTouch pens in five strengths, from 0.25 mg to 2.4 mg, and Mounjaro KwikPens in six, from 2.5 mg to 15 mg. The SmPC also states the total in the pen, which is four times the dose: the Mounjaro 10 mg KwikPen, for example, "contains 40 mg of tirzepatide in 2.4 ml solution". The two numbers describe the same pen, one per dose and one in total, and the box shows the per dose figure.

What is in the pack, and who it is for

The Wegovy SmPC lists each pack as "1 multiple dose pre-filled pen and 4 disposable NovoFine Plus needles", and adds: "The pen is designed to be used with NovoFine Plus or NovoFine disposable needles up to a length of 8 mm." The Mounjaro SmPC lists "Pack sizes of 1 and 3 pre-filled KwikPens. Not all pack sizes may be marketed." and states: "Needles are not included in the pack." So a Wegovy box contains needles for its four doses and a Mounjaro box does not; needles for the KwikPen are supplied separately. The dispensing pharmacy can confirm what your order includes.

The Wegovy SmPC's handling section opens with: "The pen is for use by one person only." The Wegovy leaflet says: "Never share your pen or your needles with other people." Both leaflets carry the sentence printed on every UK leaflet: "This medicine has been prescribed for you only. Do not pass it on to others."

The black triangle and the authorisation number

Both SmPCs begin with an inverted black triangle and the sentence: "This medicinal product is subject to additional monitoring. This will allow quick identification of new safety information." The MHRA's Yellow Card guidance says the triangle "does not mean the medicine is unsafe" and asks for all suspected side effects to be reported.

Section 8 of each SmPC gives the marketing authorisation number, the PL number for the product. The MHRA Products website can search by that number and brings up the leaflet and SmPC for the exact product, which is useful when a search by name returns several entries.

Sources

This article is information, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber about your treatment.

  • SmPC
  • leaflets
  • pens
  • packaging