Applications expand for Rhenovia's transdermal RHEpatch

The list of applications has just expanded for private biotech Rhenovia Pharma's RHEpatch, an electronic transdermal patch for controlled drug delivery. The patch was first developed to treat central nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, but the company now believes that it could work in a range of chronic diseases and has filed two new patent applications.

The RHEpatch, developed in collaboration with Rhenovia's industrial partner, Portmann Instruments, can deliver up to 7 drugs at the same time, controlling dose, treatment time and duration. Because it is preprogrammed by a doctor and can automatically and actively deliver complex drug regimes, it can be used in elderly patients, patients with reduced mobility, and patients with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, especially if they require complex drug regimens. The patch also displays how much of each product has been delivered and how much is remaining. According to an interview with in-PharmaTechnologist, this is the only technology that can initiate, control and stop delivery of up to 7 products.

"Delivering several drugs to the right place at the right time and in the right dose is a major challenge," said Michel Faupel, vice president of Rhenovia and the designer of RHEpatch. "Up to now, no one has succeeded in doing that satisfactorily. Yet this kind of approach is essential for ensuring effective long-term treatment of chronic diseases. By combining multitherapies derived from Rhenovia's simulators with the controlled administration afforded by this intelligent patch, Rhenovia is convinced it can meet that challenge."

The patch is now at the preindustrialization prototype stage, and the company has carried out proof-of-concept studies. The next step is to find pharmaceutical, industrial and financial partners.

- read the article from Manufacturing Chemist
- check out the article in in-PharmaTechnologist