Norwood seeks microneedle partners

Drug development and delivery company Norwood Abbey (ASX: NAL) is seeking partners to further progress its prototype microneedle.

The Melbourne company today announced it had completed development of an operational hand-held prototype of the novel drug delivery system.

Norwood Abbey said it had begun animal tests of the microneedle, which is said to be able to measure drug administration in nanolitres per second.

The company's statement to the market also revealed that it had entered preliminary discussions with major pharmaceutical companies who had expressed interest in the technology for specific applications.

"This is a significant milestone in the commercialisation of an important new, totally safe and high margin drug delivery system being developed by Norwood," the statement said. "It has achieved the primary aim of the project, which is to precisely deliver very small quantities of drug over time."

The technology has been developed a team from the MIT BioInstrumentation Laboratory in the United States as a means of providing controlled and accurate delivery of a wide range of transdermal drugs.

Norwood said the system was designed to provide efficient and safe drug delivery at a low cost.

The system, comprising a reusable applicator and a disposable microneedle array and drug reservoir, is said to be suited to the delivery of biologically based drugs such as proteins, peptide and carbohydrates, which are difficult to deliver with existing methods.

Norwood said testing of the prototype on animal skin had begun, with pre-clinical studies set to commence later in the year.

At the time of writing, the company's shares had gained 10 per cent on the news to trade at 88 cents.