Vyteris and Georgia Tech agree drug delivery deal
Vyteris will identify therapies for thermal ablation and microdevice fabrication technologies
Vyteris, the US developer of the LidoSite, the first FDA-approved active transdermal patch, has signed an agreement with the Georgia Tech Research Corporation of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), which grants Vyteris the option to license Georgia Tech's patented thermal ablation and microdevice fabrication technologies for transdermal drug delivery.
Georgia Tech’s thermal ablation technology selectively enhances skin permeation to allow delivery of therapeutic drugs of high molecular weight, including peptides and proteins, through the skin, eliminating the need to inject or infuse such drugs with hypodermic needles.
The microdevice fabrication technology provides a novel way of manufacturing microstructures for drug delivery using mild conditions that do not harm encapsulated drugs. Vyteris will work closely with Georgia Tech to identify therapies that would be appropriate for the new technologies.
Dr Mark Prausnitz, Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech, developed Georgia Tech’s technologies.
‘Transdermal drug delivery, in addition to doing away with painful needles, can empower patients to control their medication schedule better, improves drug efficacy in many cases, and offers the promise of reduced healthcare costs,’ Dr Prausnitz said.
Haro Hartounian, chief executive of Vyteris, added: ‘Georgia Tech's thermal ablation and microdevice fabrication technologies are potentially complementary to our active transdermal smart patch technology, and may allow Vyteris to deliver a much broader range of therapeutic drugs through the skin.’
Under terms of the agreement, Georgia Tech will receive royalty and milestone payments connected to the development and potential commercialisation of products incorporating the technologies. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
