TECHNOLOGY & PIPELINE

Technology & Pipeline

Frost & Sullivan 2007 Technology Innovation of the Year Award

Transport Pharmaceutical's Receives Coveted Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award.

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Transport Technology

Although there are many drugs available to treat dermatological diseases, delivery of optimal doses for a number of disorders remains a challenge. Systemic administration of these drugs, through either oral ingestion or injection, requires extremely large doses, often accompanied by undesired toxicities or side effects. The obvious solution is to deliver the drug topically directly to the target tissue. Unfortunately, the barrier function of the skin restricts the quantity of drug delivered by conventional formulations. The small quantities of drug delivered limit the clinical efficacy of available topical formulations, resulting in frequent applications and long courses of treatment to provide only small, if any, clinical benefit.

Transport’s Electrokinetic Transdermal System (ETS) is based on the combination of iontophoresis, a technology employing a low-voltage electric current to increase the delivery of medications through the skin, and proprietary formulations of generic drugs that have been optimized for iontophoretic delivery. The company's lead product, SoloVir™ ETS consists of a reusable iontophoretic control unit and a disposable, unit-dose, single-use medicated cartridge. The small, wireless control unit uses a low voltage, which is varied in response to patient skin impedance to provide constant current and control of drug delivery. The drug cartridge contains a unit dose of the proprietary drug formulation, as well as the drug delivery electrode. Portability of the battery-powered device allows patients to easily self-administer topical drugs for a variety of indications. Both product and technology were developed by Transport scientists and engineers and are protected by a broad patent portfolio.

SoloVir™ Electrokinetic Transdermal System (ETS) Product for herpes labialis.

Transport's ETS drives a large bolus of drug into the skin, breaking the barrier of the dermis and creating an intradermal drug depot in a single treatment.

Electrokinetic Drug Delivery

Electrokinetic drug delivery utilizes a low-voltage electric current to induce fluid and particle movement. Iontophoresis, a type of electrokinetic delivery, involves the application of an electromotive force to transport ions and neutral molecules through a solid or liquid medium, in this case the protective stratum corneum, and into the epidermis. Ionized drugs (charged molecules) are transported actively by the force of the applied electrical field (electrorepulsion). Since like charges repel, positively charged ions are driven into the skin at the anode (positive electrode), while negatively charged ions are driven into the skin at the cathode (negative electrode). The polarity of the iontophoretic device can be changed to suit the charge of the drug being delivered. Neutral, water soluble drug molecules are transported by electroosmosis, the bulk fluid flow associated with cation (positively charged molecules) transport by an electric field. Regardless of the charge on the drug, two electrodes are used in conjunction with the patient’s skin to form a closed circuit, which allows the flow of current.

Iontophoresis is used to increase local delivery of a drug through a patient’s skin and for delivering drugs to the eyes and ears. The application of an electric field to the skin greatly enhances the ability of various ionic agents to penetrate the skin barrier compared to traditional passive delivery techniques. The improved delivery may either be used to increase the amount of drug delivered or to shorten the treatment time. Iontophoresis is well suited to the targeted dermal delivery of drugs. The use of electrokinetic techniques has obviated the need for hypodermic injection of many medicaments, thereby eliminating the concomitant problems of trauma, pain and risk of infection to the patient.

Process of Electrokinetic Drug Delivery

Download Electrokinetic Drug Delivery Fact Sheet

Product Pipeline

Transport’s expertise in the design of drug/device convergence Electrokinetic Transdermal Systems (ETS) and rapid efficient, execution of the associated development programs has resulted in a diverse portfolio of medically and commercially promising product opportunities in a number of dermatological conditions with large market potentials and unmet clinical needs such as oral herpes, onychomycosis, acne, psoriasis and actinic keratosis.

Transport’s future applications will exploit the unmet need and highly attractive market for local delivery of macromolecules. Accordingly, the company is developing technology that will combine mechanical poration that can painlessly breach the stratum-corneum barrier of the skin and, as an integral component of our products, enable iontophoretic delivery of macromolecules through the skin.