Vetter and Microdermics Inc., a Vancouver-based medical device company developing a novel hollow microneedle drug and vaccine delivery system, have entered into a strategic drug delivery agreement. 

Microneedles are a novel technology that can offer advantages as an alternative to traditional needle injections and other routes of administration, mainly in reducing the injectable dose needed to trigger an immune response and accelerating drug absorption by the body.
 
The companies will leverage the expertise of both firms in an effort to enable late stage process development and device manufacture on a commercial scale. Microdermics microneedle technology is commercially scalable and capable of pain-free injections into the pharmacokinetically beneficial intradermal space. Microdermics has successfully demonstrated the initial safety of its microneedle system, and is planning Phase I clinical trials for vaccine and therapeutic delivery, to be initiated in 2017. Vetter offers a combination of device development and associated drug product manufacturing and packaging services.
 
The Phase I trials to validate the effectiveness and reliability of intradermal delivery are expected to begin in 2017. Microdermics will focus product development and clinical activities on new delivery methods for existing commercial products, providing new methods for partners to differentiate via a novel intradermal delivery system, as well as pursue product life cycle extensions. 

“We are very happy to enter into this agreement with Microdermics, and we are excited by the initial experience of cooperation and entrepreneurial spirit we have established with key individuals at this company,” said Dr. Claus Feussner, Vetter’s senior vice president Development Service. “We believe that microneedles are a particularly innovative technology and may prove to be a promising future alternative for selected areas of drug delivery.” 

“Microdermics is extremely excited to work with a world-class partner like Vetter, since our strategic interests align and their decades of experience and innovation in the fill and finish segment will enable us to accelerate our commercialization strategy. Vetter’s vast experience with a wide variety of drug substances provides us with an invaluable opportunity for a successful development path for our microneedle drug delivery technology,” said Grant Campany, president and chief executive officer of Microdermics.