Dr. Matthew Hepburn, who spearheaded vaccine development for Operation Warp Speed during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been appointed as Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Panther Life Sciences, a New York-based company developing innovative skin-based treatments using microarray patch (MAP) technology.
In his new role, Dr. Hepburn will lead Panther's strategic efforts to commercialize its patented MAP platform, with a primary focus on bringing the first commercial product to market within the next two years. The company is developing a comprehensive pipeline of treatments for immune-mediated diseases and other conditions, targeting a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity.
"With over three decades of experience in drug development and medical innovation, Matt will drive the development and deployment of Panther's patient-centric MAP treatments," said Carlos Bhola, CEO of Panther Life Sciences. "Matt's leadership and vision are vital as we expand our suite of MAP applications and accelerate commercialization through clinical trials and regulatory approval."
Revolutionary Microarray Patch Technology
Panther's proprietary MAP technology represents a significant advancement in drug delivery systems. The platform consists of an array of tiny needles—each just hundreds of microns long—designed to penetrate only the outermost layer of skin without reaching deeper pain receptors, resulting in virtually pain-free application.
Upon contact with the skin, the biocompatible tips loaded with therapeutic agents begin dissolving within the interstitial fluid, releasing medication directly into the epidermis and dermis. This targeted delivery mechanism potentially offers higher efficacy with minimal side effects compared to traditional delivery methods.
A key advantage of the MAP platform is its stability at room temperature, eliminating the cold-chain logistics challenges that complicated COVID-19 vaccine distribution globally.
"We know that with the COVID vaccines, as example, we had an amazing logistics team with the army and with the CDC to get the COVID vaccines out to people, but because the vaccines had to be kept at really, really cold temperatures, the logistical challenges were absolutely massive," Dr. Hepburn explained. "What we saw, especially for worldwide distribution, that sometimes maintaining those vaccines at that very cold temperature was essentially impossible to do so that access for people to receive their COVID vaccines—that was the biggest limitation."
Distinguished Career in Public Health and Biodefense
Dr. Hepburn brings exceptional credentials to Panther Life Sciences. As the vaccine development lead for Operation Warp Speed during the Trump Administration, he helped deliver the first COVID-19 vaccines to patients less than a year after the pandemic's outbreak—an unprecedented achievement in vaccine development.
His 23-year career as a physician and U.S. Army veteran includes serving as director of Medical Preparedness on the White House National Security Staff and as a program manager at DARPA for six years. He also deployed to Iraq as a hospital Chief Medical Officer and established numerous international public health and clinical research partnerships.
This extensive background in rapid product development and pandemic preparedness positions him ideally to accelerate Panther's MAP platform across various applications including cancer, allergies, and infectious diseases.
Market Potential and Future Applications
While the technology is still in early development stages, Panther is working to establish proof of concept before targeting specific disease applications. The company envisions its MAP platform revolutionizing treatment delivery for a wide range of conditions.
"By making our innovative MAP platform widely-accessible, Panther is poised to revolutionize the way treatments are delivered, improving patient outcomes and significantly reducing healthcare cost throughout," said Dr. Hepburn. "I am inspired by the potential of Panther's MAP technology and with our partners, I am fully committed to bringing established and novel treatments to market faster and more efficiently."
The company's business model includes making its platform available to pharmaceutical, biotech, and cosmeceutical partners, with the goal of delivering an extensive portfolio of both prior-approved and novel treatments at scale.
Dr. Hepburn compared the startup environment at Panther to his experience with Operation Warp Speed: "What I love about it is it reminds me a lot of that commitment we had at Operation Warp Speed, where everybody on your team is committed to the goal of making a big vision real."
Panther Life Sciences positions itself as a company committed to enabling better health for all by unlocking the skin's unique immune properties and applying advanced engineering through its MAP platform. The company aims to transform consumers' end-to-end experience with shelf-stable treatments that can be delivered directly to consumers globally.
