Perth's OBJ claims progress on 'electronic' drug patch

Drug delivery company OBJ (ASX:OBJ) claims to have reached an advanced stage in the development of its coin-sized smart drug patch.

The Western Australian based company has produced what is says is the world's first intelligent solid-state drug patch and embodies the company's propriety Dermaporation through-the-skin drug delivery technology.

Independent university trials by the Western Australian Biomedical Research institute, Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, Curtin University of Technology and Murdoch University have shown that the technology can increase drug delivery rates by up to 600 per cent and can control both dose rate and times of delivery across a number of commercially important drugs, the company said.

"It is a complete change on the way that we think of the drug patch," said Jeff Edwards, OBJ's director of technical development. "The smart patch can deliver a range of drugs, hormones and cosmetically active compounds without the need to create new formulations."

"The smart patch can be tailored and frequenced to a specific drug and gives the pharmaceutical companies protected IP. It alters the skin and not the drug which removes the need to re-regulate the drug. We have worked out an entirely new way of managing the skins dermal barrier effect. It communicates with the barrier and persuades it to create micro chimneys to slip in the drugs."

The re-usable coin-sized drug patch contains a complete microcomputer system and rechargeable power source and is expected to cost just a few dollars, making it competitive with current drug delivery systems.

"The new device means drugs can be taken from injectable to transdermal. It is patient friendly, you can administer to the skin where you want and when you want, even in your own home," said Edwards. "The amount of energy produced by the Dermaportation system is approximately 1000 times smaller than the stratum corneum lipid disruptive processes current used. This makes Dermaportation ideally suited to portability, out-patient and homecare usage".

OBJ said it had established proof of principle, and plans to work with further with pharmaceutical companies to find delivery solutions.

"We are here to solve problems but people have to tell us what they are. We are currently in early stage discussions will two major european groups," said Edwards.

Curtin University is presenting a poster on the use of Dermaporation drug patch technology at the World Congress on Pain in Sydney in August.