WOBURN, Mass. — Vaxess Technologies announced Tuesday that it has secured an additional $9 million in funding to accelerate development of its needle-free drug delivery platform.
The funding round, backed by RA Capital Management and Engine Ventures, will support ongoing work in GLP-1 therapies and the expansion of Vaxess’s manufacturing infrastructure to accommodate both its lead program and new strategic partnerships.
Vaxess is pioneering a microarray patch technology that aims to revolutionize how patients receive injectable medications. Designed to be applied like a bandage, the patch delivers drugs through microscopic projections, providing a painless alternative to traditional self-injection methods.
“From GLP-1 to insulin, doctors prescribe numerous drugs that require people to self-inject, which can cause physical and psychological discomfort,” said Rachel Sha, CEO of Vaxess. “Vaxess’s microarray patch is the future of drug delivery. In the coming years, instead of having to perform an uncomfortable self-injection for a range of conditions, people will be able to simply apply a band-aid-like patch for a few minutes.”
In addition to improving patient comfort and compliance, the patch is designed to be stable at room temperature—an innovation that could significantly reduce reliance on cold chain logistics, one of the most costly and complex elements of pharmaceutical distribution.
Over the past year, Vaxess demonstrated the platform’s efficacy in delivering the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide, a key drug in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Preclinical studies in minipigs and rodents revealed that the patch-delivered semaglutide achieved comparable bioavailability to subcutaneous injections.
In a major step forward, Vaxess signed a partnership in 2024 with a top-tier biopharma company to collaborate on developing patch-based delivery for diabetes and obesity drugs. The partnership will include pharmacokinetic studies in swine to compare the patch method against standard injection protocols.
The additional funding will allow Vaxess to scale its operations and bolster its manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demand for its platform.
As the healthcare industry continues to explore patient-friendly solutions and cost-efficient drug delivery models, Vaxess’s approach offers a glimpse into a future where complex biologics could be administered as easily as applying a bandage—no needles required.
