Drug Delivery Business

Drug-Device Combinations

Update: Isis Biopolymer raises another $3 million

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Isis Biopolymer Inc., a company developing a new generation of non-invasive drug delivery patches, has raised $3 million through an equity sale to existing investors.

The Providence, R.I.-based firm has developed the Isis Patch, a compact, wireless, active iontophoretic patch using a design that implements advances in microprocessors, thin film batteries, biopolymers and adhesives.

In a statement sent to MassDevice, CEO Emma Durand said the current round “clearly shows the confidence of the investment community in Isis Biopolymer and our innovative transdermal drug delivery and biosensor technology.”

Echo Therapeutics readies Prelude SkinPrep for clinical trials

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Echo Therapeutics Inc. (OTC:ECTE) reached a milestone with one of its two flagship products, the Prelude SkinPrep system, which is ready for clinical trials examining its use in dispensing lidocaine.

The Franklin, Mass.-based company, which is also developing a needle-free glucose monitoring system called the Symphony tCGM, said its development work on the Prelude system is complete and it’s ready for a study in the “near term.”

MicroCHIPS drums up another $16.5 million and a new investor

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MicroCHIPS Inc. corraled a group of existing investors and roped in a new backer into the fold, adding $16.5 million to its coffers as it works toward bringing its platform monitoring and treatment implant technology to market.

Existing backers Polaris Venture Partners, Novartis Venture Fund, Flybridge Capital Partners, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), Saints Capital, Intersouth Partners, Care Capital and CSK Venture Capital all upped their investment in the Bedford, Mass.-based company. New backer InterWest Partners also chipped in.

Echo Therapeutics gears up for investor push

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Echo Therapeutics Inc. (OTC:ECTE) is gearing up for a push to land new investors next year, which it expects to be “transformative,” hiring a New York-based investor relations consulting firm to manage a “strategic investor relations campaign.”

Hayden IR will develop and implement the Franklin, Mass.-based company’s bid to attract more investors in 2010. Echo is developing needle-free drug delivery technologies, including a non-invasive, wireless glucose monitoring device and skin preparation system for transdermal drug delivery.

MicroCHIPS recognized by world economic forum

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What does MicroCHIPS Inc. have in common with Twitter?

Both were among a pool of 26 firms named 2010 Technology Pioneers by the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The awards are handed out yearly to companies that are “involved in the development of a life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society.”

The 26 companies were winnowed from a pool of 300 applicants and judged by 58 “experts,” according to the Swiss think tank, from the ranks of academia, media and industry.

Taris Biomedical completes Phase I study of bladder drug-device combo

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Taris Biomedical said it successfully completed the first phase of clinical trials of its drug-device combination to treat bladder problems, but declined to release any details of the study pending scientific publication.

The Lexington, Mass.-based firm said the study of its Liris device, which stands for “lidocaine-releasing intravesical system,” was aimed at evaluating the safety, tolerability and retention of the system in the bladder for treating interstitial cystitis. Also known as painful bladder syndrome, IC involves chronic inflammation of the bladder wall.