PIOMBINO DESE, Italy & SANTA BARBARA, Calif.– Italian-based Stevanato Group S.p.A., a global provider of drug containment, drug delivery and diagnostic solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries, and Bexson Biomedical, Inc., a research stage company developing subcutaneous therapies for pain management and mental health disorders, announced today that they have signed an agreement expanding their collaboration.
This agreement between the companies will grant Bexson access to the use of Stevanato’s wearable delivery system — a customized version of the SG EZ-be Pod® — to develop new therapeutics to treat a wide range of mental health conditions, including treatment-resistant depression and PTSD.
Since 2020, Stevanato Group and Bexson have worked to optimize the modularity of the SG EZ-be Pod®, for the treatment of chronic and acute pain disorders. Such SG EZ-be Pod® is a small, wearable infusion device that can be programmed for a wide range of medications and delivery profiles, including at-home delivery. This subcutaneous drug delivery system is the flagship for Bexson’s proprietary ketamine formulation, BB106, and leverages Stevanato Group’s existing technology and broad experience in medical device innovation.
Bexson’s formulation technology has been shown to work with several other classes of small molecules, beyond ketamine. This new agreement allows the companies to evaluate further collaborations with their device and drug platforms, respectively.
Combining these technologies aims to provide many of the dosing control advantages of intravenous medication delivery without the procedural burden and high cost. Oral delivery of psychedelic compounds can lead to gastrointestinal tract discomfort, long and expensive therapy sessions, and high response variability. Subcutaneous delivery can also address many of the problems related to poor bioavailability. This approach is also intended to permit real-time dose attunement in an office setting, such as psychedelic psychotherapy.
“We are grateful that our partners have the expertise and ideal technology to deliver not just Bexson’s ketamine formulation, but also other compounds optimized by Bexson’s formulation technology,” said Jeffrey Becker, MD, Bexson’s Chief Scientific Officer. “We’re actually just scratching the surface of what is possible. Beyond pain management and mental health indications, this partnership enables a dynamic small molecule delivery system that can be applied to a surprisingly large number of important therapies.”
“We extend our collaboration with Bexson to better suit the needs of patients from different therapeutic areas by developing the modularity of our award-winning SG EZ-be Pod®. The extension of our wearable device to a wider range of therapeutic areas may help provide effective and comfortable treatments to patients suffering from mental illness or chronic pain that impacts the quality of their lives. The patient-centric SG EZ-be POD® is intended to give patients more flexibility in the administration of medication outside of clinics and hospitals. The partnership with Bexson responds also to the need for sustainability on part of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with the goal to reduce the overall cost per treatment,” said Chief Business Officer Mauro Stocchi, Stevanato Group.
