Project description
Innovative wearable devices for subcutaneous drug delivery
The general trend in the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare field, in general, is to migrate from intravenous to a more convenient subcutaneous (SC) drug administration. In these integrated systems, the drug products are paired with delivery devices, like in the wearable bolus injectors (WBIs). WBIs are prefilled, disposable devices that patient wears on the body during the SC self-administration of a large dose of medication. The Denmark company Subcuject ApS is developing a new class of WBIs that uses osmotic pressure and is fully mechanical, creating a flexible, reliable, low-cost and eco-friendly device. The EU-funded oWBI project aims to complete the development cycle of the device platform and perform the necessary business-related tasks for rapid and efficient market uptake.
Objective
With more drugs coming onto the market as combination products, i.e. drug products paired with delivery devices pharmaceutical companies are paying closer attention to integrated delivery systems. Due to: 1) the trend in the change in drug formulations, in order to migrate from intravenous to a more cost-effective and convenient subcutaneous (SC) drug administration; and 2) the trend in moving from synthetic derived drugs to biologically drugs that are more complex and have higher viscosity and therefore require delivery of larger doses; resulted in the need for a new class of injection devices - wearable bolus-injectors (WBIs). WBIs are prefilled, disposable devices that are worn on the body of a patient during the SC self-administration of a large dose of medication. The WBI market is estimated to grow in CAGR of 170% between 2015 – 2020 and achieve €6.9Bn by 2025, and pharmaceutical companies are actively seeking for reliable and cost-effective WBIs, providing optimal injection performance at an attractive unit cost and low cost of customization.
Subcuject ApS (SCJ) is a medical device company set to commercialize a new class of WBIs - Subcuject - that makes use of the simple, predictable and strong force of nature: osmotic pressure. Unlike the current WBIs, Subcuject is fully mechanical, bearing no electronic components, resulting in a more flexible, reliable and eco-friendly device at a remarkably lower cost than competitor’s (75 - 86% cost reduction).
SCJ business strategy is based on establishing multiple licensing deals (depending on the drug type, disease, region) with pharmaceutical companies. The Subcuject device is expected to significantly enhance SCJ’s profitability, with an expected accumulated profit of €97M, 5 years after project completion. Moreover, the successful achievement of the project objectives will assist SCJ to be a leading company in the WBI device segment in a market today dominated by U.S. companies.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
3150 HELLEBAEK
Denmark
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.