Non-Invasive and Passive Transdermal Drug Delivery Patch for Parkinson’s Disease

Categories: “Medical and Research Devices“

Reference #: 2022-008

OTC Contact: Sharon E. Pula, M.S., J.D. (Directory Information | Send a Message)

DESCRIPTION

Researchers at Georgetown University have developed a skin patch-type non-invasive, transdermal delivery device for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) that is able to passively deliver L-DOPA, the “gold standard” oral therapeutic for dopamine replacement in PD, directly and through the skin, in a safe, easy, painless effective method to maintain a relatively constant drug level in the blood.

APPLICATIONS

• Administration of L-DOPA delivery for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), the “gold standard” oral therapeutic for dopamine replacement in PD.
• Administration other medications having similar profile characteristics (e.g., half-life, bioavailability, performance, etc.) to L-DOPA
• Will allow safe, easy, painless, and effective delivery of medications, not requiring complex drug modifications or invasive devices, for a diverse population ranging from pediatric to geriatric.

ADVANTAGES

• Self-administered therapeutic device that is as simple as applying a Band-Aid.
• Delivery of drugs directly into the circulatory system, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract and liver; permits ease of use and improved quality of life.
• Lipophilic and hydrophilic therapeutic agents of macromolecular size can be delivered transdermally to reach the circulatory system.
• The technology relies on modifying the stratum corneum and not the drug itself by creating temporary micron-sized conduits, or micropores, that start at the skin surface and traverse through the stratum corneum and into the uppermost portion of the viable epidermis, thereby bypassing the problematic material properties associated with the stratum corneum.

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT

Prototype development

PATENT STATUS

Provisional Patent Application

INVENTORS

Charbel Moussa, PhD
Makarand Paranjape, PhD