Background:
Microneedles are arrays of tiny needles used as an alternative to large hypodermic syringes in transdermal and
subcutaneous drug delivery.
Microneedles are safer, less frightening for patients and less painful than traditional injections.
Dublin’s UCD developed a novel approach to fabricating hollow microneedles that could overcome limitations of existing microneedle solutions and that offer an improvement over traditional injection methods
Requirement
Microneedles have existed for some time, but they are usually expensive, slow to manufacture and use brittle materials which put patients at risk of leaving needle fragments in the skin. Research at UCD showed that a low-cost, more robust and scalable alternative based on a novel fabrication technology was feasible and could offer benefits over injected drug delivery options
Kestrel was asked to investigate the market and (a) identify which therapy areas, and therefore which markets could benefit from microneedle technology and (b) identify how this new technology compares to current alternatives
Response
Kestrel identified and contacted KOLs in drug delivery, clinical practice and pharma to help understand what issues exist and what improvements were needed.
Kestrel conducted a 3-month investigation, supported by industry and clinical stakeholders, to establish the market potential for microneedles. This has been followed by a second project to identify commercialisation routes and develop relationships with commercial partners.
Result
Kestrel identified that microneedles offer significant benefits in vaccine delivery, reducing patient avoidance, and in paramedic medicine, reducing risk to HCPs.
Other benefits include self-administration, reducing risks of cross-contamination and improved metabolization of new complex large molecule biologics. Several industry stakeholders have expressed an interest in supporting this development