Psivida feeling no pain

Perth nano-biotech company pSivida has been keeping its patent lawyers in the UK from their repose, with the company announcing that its UK subsidiary, Psimedica, has been issued with yet another US patent for its proprietary biomaterial BioSilicon.

It’s PsiVida’s 19th issued patent, with more than 80 still pending, according to pSivida investor relations manager Josh Mann.

US patent No 6,770,480 describes a micro-engineered drug-delivery system, employing arrays of very fine BioSilicon needles, so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, to deliver medications directly through the skin.

The micro-needle arrays will be mounted on adhesive patches on the skin, similar to those used to deliver slow-release hormone therapies.

Drugs will be incorporated into the nanopores of the BioSilicon needles and the patch applied to the skin – pSivida promises to trump the GP’s perennial “this will only hurt a little” with the promise that the delivery system will be virtually painless.

The microneedles will break off and remain in the skin, where they will safely biodegrade away. The technology also provides a microscopic means for transferring selected drugs directly through cell membranes.

The skin is a highly impermeable barrier to macromolecules, including many drug molecules. The microneedle system will provide a novel system for transdermal delivery of drugs.

PSivida yesterday completed its $58 million acquisition of pSiMedica from its strategic partner QunetiQ and other minor shareholders, paving the way for it to accelerate the development of commercial applications of BioSilicon.

The company also announced it has appointed two non-exectutive directors to its board: QinetiQ’s investment director, Stephen Lake, and financial institution expert Alison Ledger, until recently a prinicipal at McKinsey and Co in Sydney and London.