Transdermal drug-delivery company Medherant said yesterday it raised $5.1 million (GBP £3.8 million) in a funding round as it looks to move its drug-delivering ibuprofen Tepi Patch into clinical development early next year.

The funding round was led by majority shareholder Mercia Technologies and joined by existing shareholders and new private investors, the Coventry, U.K.-based company said.

“We are grateful to have the continued support of our shareholders and welcome new investors as we move into the next exciting phase of the company’s development. Our Tepi Patch technology is generating global interest and we are now working with several leading pharmaceutical companies at the same time as we develop our own product pipeline,” CEO Nigel Davis said in a press release.

The Tepi Patch is designed to deliver drugs to act locally or systemically, Medherant said. The company touted it as being compatible with a wider range of drugs and having a greater loading capacity than other drug-in-adhseive patch technologies.

Medherant said it has completed non-clinical work on the lead ibuprofen-based version of the patch, and that it is working with AdhexPharma to manufacture the product which it hopes will be ready for clinical trials next Spring.

“Medherant’s highly versatile platform is compatible with a wide range of drugs, enabling a transdermal route to market for drugs not currently suitable for formulation with existing delivery technologies. The company’s first product, ibuprofen TEPI Patch, will be manufactured at AdhexPharma in France for clinical trials in early 2018. Led by Dr Nicola Broughton, investment director and head of Universities at Mercia, we have been working with the founders since inception, initially through our managed funds and are now scaling the business with a further direct investment. This has increased our equity holding in what potentially may become a very valuable business,” Mercia CEO Mark Payton said in a prepared statement.