Mercia continues investment in Medherant’s drug delivery patch

Medherant, a Univerity of Warwick spin-out, will receive follow-on capital from Mercia to help develop its drug delivering patch

Medherant’s patch, known as the TEPI-patch is capable of delivering higher doses of drugs directly to the areas where they are needed, according to Mercia.

The therapy is delivered by the patch over a period of one to twelve hours, depending on the patient’s requirements and the drug being administered.

Mercia said that the technology, which is initially being developed for Ibuprofen and Methyl Salicylate, is capable of working with a wide range of products, including drugs that have failed clinical trials because of their unsuitability for oral consumption. 

The investment, which totals £250,000 from both Mercia’s third-party University Growth Fund and Growth Fund 4, will allow Medherant to continue product development.

Since Mercia’s first investment last June 2015, the company said it has secured an exclusive deal with Bostik, an adhesive specialist, to use a novel pressure sensitive adhesive material in the development of the patch. 

Medherant has also moved to new laboratories and has validated that its technology works successfully on drugs that were previously not suitable for transdermal delivery, according to Mercia.

Mercia’s head of technology transfer, Nicola Broughton, said: “It is wonderful to see Medherant achieve such impressive results, whilst still being at a relatively early stage in its development.”

Nigel Davis, CEO of Medherant, said: “Medherant has benefitted from a lot of commercial and media interest over the past few months and we are grateful to Nicola and Mercia for their support as we continue to harness this awareness and build on our existing patch technology.”