Glide raises £2.7M for needle-free injection device

Funding

Glide Pharma Ltd, which is developing a device for the needle-free administration of solid dose therapeutics and vaccines, has completed an oversubscribed £2.7 million fundraising.

The round was supported by existing institutional and private investors, including Hygea VCT and Oxford Technology VCTs. Glide has now raised a total of £10 million in four rounds of private funding.

The money will be used for clinical development and to continue scale-up of its commercial manufacturing process.

The investment follows a recent proof-of-concept study of Glide’s solid dose injector, the Glide SDI. The clinical study, conducted in 18 subjects with a solid dose formulation of the analgesic fentanyl, confirmed that the Glide SDI can safely and quickly deliver accurate doses into the systemic circulation, demonstrating the potential of the Glide technology in the $2 billion per annum breakthrough pain market. Throughout the study, administration with the needle-free Glide SDI avoided the bruising and bleeding associated with needle and syringe delivery.

“The completion of this oversubscribed fundraising is a clear demonstration of our investors’ confidence in the Glide technology and the advantages it can offer both patients and our partners in the pharmaceutical industry,” said Charles Potter, Glide Pharma’s CEO.

The Glide SDI is a reusable injection device, which uses a spring mechanism to rapidly administer medicines in the form of a tiny granule supplied in a pre-filled disposable cassette, below the patient’s skin where it dissolves and enters the circulation.

The one-click action, pen-sized device is easy to use, making it ideal for self-administration. In clinical testing, volunteers strongly preferred the Glide SDI to the traditional needle and syringe. Additionally, Glide solid dose formulations offer the potential to improve the stability and modify the release of medicines into the bloodstream, avoid the need to reconstitute dried formulations and eliminate the risk of needle-stick injuries.