When a drug is introduced into the bloodstream, there's only one commonly accepted way it can be delivered without it passing through the digestive system: by needle. However, if biopharmaceutical company TransPharma Medical Ltd.'s plans are realized, there could be a way that is more effective and friendly both to the environment and patients. "I've done a lot of work on drug delivery," says Yossi Gross, a serial entrepreneur who is co-founder of TransPharma and also serves as its adviser on R&D, "and it was pretty clear to me that introducing drugs via the skin is one of the more successful delivery methods. TransPharma is going to be highly successful and it will sign massive contracts, worth as much as $500 million."
This quote from Gross, who does not talk to the media that often, attests to the breadth of his vision for the company and his faith in it. Gross is the entrepreneur behind no less than 20 Israeli companies, among them VisionCare Opthalmic Technologies, EarlySense Ltd., E-Pill Pharma Ltd., BrainsGate Ltd., and others. Last year, another of Gross's companies GI View Ltd. made it into the "Globes" list of most promising start-ups. He currently owns 100 patents.
In addition, Gross made the contact with TransPharma's first investor, Pitango Venture Capital, and Dr. Ruth Alon, who managed the investment on behalf of the fund and recruited Dr. Dafna Heffetz as the company's CEO. Heffetz previously served as CEO and director of Savyon Diagnostics, and dreamed of setting up her own company. In effect, she set up the company on the basis of an idea conceived by Gross.
TransPharma has developed a method for delivering biological drugs through the skin, while maintaining a fixed concentration of them in the blood. "Our task is both challenging and complex, but we realized that if we didn't go for everything, we would be left with nothing," says Heffetz. When she says everything, Heffetz means the company's decision to develop not merely a drug delivery device, but an entire product - device plus drug, from start to finish. "I imagine that this approach has something to do with my broad engineering background alongside my understanding of biology," says Gross.
It now appears that this decision was the right one. A joint development agreement with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA), a further in-house product now in Phase II clinical trials, and the raising of $34 million in finance (excluding payments related to the agreement with Teva) show that the company is on the right track. TransPharma and Teva are jointly developing a human growth hormone. Teva provides the hormone, and TransPharma turns it into a formula that will enable it to be delivered through the skin using its in-house delivery device, and drug delivery patches.
Teva subsequently also invested in TransPharma in its most recent financing round. "From the point of view of its share in the investment, it is not the main investor, but its contribution in terms of the know how and capabilities it can offer is tremendous," says Heffetz. According to Ronny Gal, an analyst at investment house Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., the potential revenue worldwide from Teva and TransPharma's joint development could reach $500 million, which the two companies will share equally.
"When you use the conventional method to deliver a drug, via the digestive system, there could be damage to the liver and other symptoms connected to toxicity, including a reduction in the drug's efficacy," says Gross. "Administering a drug through the skin enables it to be delivered directly to the bloodstream without passing through the liver. I realized that miniature channels could be opened up in the skin using radio waves in a painless manner, and that these could then be used to convey the drug. The process takes a few seconds and then the channels are closed without leaving behind any damage."
The patch containing the drug has an innovative side to it too. "Biological drugs, which are the ones most suitable for the device (they do not pass through the skin easily, and are not effective when digested), do not hold up all that well under humid conditions," says Gross. "The company's team tried to develop a patch based on both fluid and gel, but these attempts proved unsuccessful, and the company had to try and adopt a more creative approach."
The result was another invention - the drug is administered using a powder embossed on the patch. When the small channels in the skin open up, the inter-cell fluid inside them rises and dissolves the drug, allowing it to flow inward. There is no humid environment apart from this, and the drug's shelf life is not affected as a result. "We were lucky enough to meet investors who believed in us," says Heffetz.
In 2005, TransPharma took another quantum leap forward when it began developing a totally in-house product on the basis of an osteoporosis drug. This is the flagship product now in Phase II clinical trials. The company is now developing a second in-house product. "This is what will build the company towards an exit, many products at differing development stages," says Heffetz. Neither she nor Gross say what sort of exit is in the pipeline, but they expect to see a significant move going ahead in the coming years. "When you believe in the company, sometimes you actually postpone a step like this," says Heffetz. "They have a good team and a unique technology," concludes Gross. "It's going to be really interesting over there in the near future."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 24, 2007
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