Cork Biotech ArrayPatch Wins €800K Seedcorn Award for Revolutionary Microneedle Drug Delivery Technology
核心洞察
ArrayPatch (搜索), a University College Cork spinout, won the top prize at the €800K Seedcorn awards for its DerMap (搜索) microneedle technology that delivers medication through dissolving patches applied to the skin.
The company's innovative approach creates microneedles from "pure medicine" rather than traditional polymers, achieving 56 times higher drug delivery levels than oral and topical treatments in animal trials for nail fungal infections (搜索).
ArrayPatch (搜索) is raising €3M in seed funding and plans first-in-human trials in Q1 2025, targeting a market worth $6.2 billion for nail fungal infections (搜索) alone by 2027.
ArrayPatch (搜索), a University College Cork (UCC) spinout developing revolutionary microneedle drug delivery technology, has claimed the top prize at InterTradeIreland (搜索)'s prestigious Seedcorn competition, securing significant validation for its innovative DerMap (搜索) platform.
The Cork-based biotech company, founded by Dr. Waleed Faisal, won the overall award for its pain-free dissolving microneedle technology that allows medication to penetrate the skin barrier (搜索), dissolve, and release precisely at target sites. The technology bypasses the need for invasive treatments and has potential to transform treatment approaches across multiple therapeutic areas.
Breakthrough Microneedle Technology
DerMap (搜索) represents a fundamental departure from conventional microneedle design. While traditional microneedles are made from polymers and excipients (inactive pharmaceutical ingredients), ArrayPatch (搜索)'s innovation creates microneedles from "pure medicine," eliminating the need for excipients and enabling higher drug loading with faster dissolving and cleaner delivery.
Dr. Faisal and Professor Abina Crean developed the technology by applying heat and pressure to powdered medicine, melting it before shaping it into microneedles using micromoulds. This approach removes the difficult balancing act required when increasing excipient levels, which typically causes polymer breakdown.
"We're aiming to minimise or even eliminate polymers and excipients, instead making microneedles out of nearly pure active molecules. That way you get higher drug loading, faster dissolving and cleaner delivery compared to conventional approaches," Dr. Faisal explained.
Compelling Clinical Data
Animal trials for nail fungal infection applications have demonstrated the technology's superior performance, with DerMap (搜索) delivering medication levels 56 times higher than oral and topical treatments. This dramatic improvement addresses significant limitations in current treatment options.
Current oral treatments for nail fungal infections (搜索) achieve success rates of only 28-30%, while topical formulations perform even worse at 8-12%. Additionally, oral tablets carry significant liver side effects, limiting treatment duration to two weeks, while topical treatments require up to 18 months of application.
"The oral tablet has a success rate of 28 to 30 per cent. The topical formulation has a success rate of 8 to 12 per cent, which means they are actually not working that well," Dr. Faisal noted. "Plus the oral tablet has a lot of side effects in the liver. People cannot use the medicine for more than two weeks, and the topical treatment is up to 18 months, so there is no real treatment in the market — and that's where we come in."
Substantial Market Opportunity
The nail fungal infection market alone represents significant commercial potential, with 33 million people affected in the US and the British Association of Dermatologists estimating that 25% of people will experience such infections during their lifetime. This figure rises to 50% among diabetics over age 60, who face particular risks as infections can cause sepsis (搜索) and bone and tissue damage.
The nail fungal infection treatment market is expected to reach $6.2 billion by 2027, while DerMap (搜索)'s broader applications across skin cancer (搜索), diabetes (搜索), migraines (搜索), psoriasis (搜索), and hormone replacement therapy represent a combined market opportunity of $70 billion.
Development Timeline and Funding
ArrayPatch (搜索) is currently raising €3 million in seed funding, with €2 million already committed from six investors including Lakeside Capital (搜索), Enterprise Ireland, and DeepIE (搜索). The remaining €1 million is expected to be secured by year-end from investment syndicates and venture capital groups.
The funding will support early manufacturing costs and the first phase of human trials for nail fungal infection applications, planned for Q1 2025 with 12 participants. The company has secured a US manufacturing partner specializing in dermatology and patches.
A Series A round of $8-10 million is planned for 2028-2029 to fund Phase II trials involving 135 patients and large-scale manufacturing ahead of market release. Dr. Faisal expects regulatory approval from the FDA and European Medicines Agency (搜索) by 2029 at the earliest.
Regulatory Pathway and Partnerships
ArrayPatch (搜索) benefits from an accelerated regulatory timeline since the medications used in DerMap (搜索) are pre-approved. While new medications typically require six to nine years for regulatory clearance, the company expects a three to four-year timeline for data gathering, interpretation, and submission.
The company has engaged with regulators including the FDA, European Medicines Agency (搜索), Ireland's HPRA (搜索), and Germany's BPharm for three years, with regulatory input helping design the human trials.
Discussions are ongoing with three pharmaceutical companies regarding research grants for co-development and option agreements for future licensing or acquisition rights. Dr. Faisal indicated engagement with "the two main players in nail fungal infections (搜索)" who would handle commercialization while ArrayPatch (搜索) manages trials and manufacturing.
Broader Applications in Development
Beyond nail fungal infections (搜索), ArrayPatch (搜索) is advancing multiple applications of its platform technology. Animal trials have been completed for skin cancer (搜索) applications, laboratory work is progressing for diabetes (搜索) applications, and stability studies are underway for migraine treatments.
Dr. Faisal believes DerMap (搜索) could transform treatment across these conditions, potentially eliminating the need for surgery in some skin cancer (搜索) cases and providing migraine relief within 30-60 minutes.
"Becoming the overall Seedcorn winner is a tremendous validation of our technology and our vision. ArrayPatch (搜索) was built to make effective therapies easier, safer and more accessible for patients, and this recognition shows how much potential DerMap (搜索) has to reshape drug delivery," Dr. Faisal said following the award announcement.