[Image courtesy of Portal Instruments]
Portal Instruments
Cambridge, Mass.
Founded: 2012
Portal Instruments is developing a needle-free drug delivery technology designed to improve the administration of highly-viscous biologic drugs.
Companies have long sought after a needle-free injection platform as a solution to the anxiety people harbor about giving themselves shots. First-generation devices, according to Portal Instruments, all had the same problem: the jet was uncontrolled, leading to patient discomfort at the beginning of the injection and delivery challenges for high-volume drugs.
Portal’s product, which the company in-licensed from MIT, administers the injection in a stream the size of a strand of hair, using computer-controlled precise pressure technology to control the jet.
The company landed an exclusive $100 million deal with Takeda in November last year to combine Portal’s needle-free drug-delivery device with the pharmaceutical company’s biologic medicines.
“We are excited to bring this highly innovative technology from MIT to the market and help patients with the difficulty of their chronic diseases. Our first commercial relationship with Takeda will enable us to do that for patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases,” CEO Patrick Anquetil told Medical Design & Outsourcing.
–Sarah Faulkner, Associate Editor
