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Assistant
Themistoklis Sapsis Director of the Center for Ocean Engineering
The adherence to treatment in injectable therapies for chronic diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, etc.) is extremely low (45% - 60%) and in part due to the inconvenience and anxiety associated with using needles and syringes. Biological medicines treating those conditions cannot be formulated as pills and as such there is a huge opportunity for new technologies replacing needles and syringes to transform the perception, approachability and market penetration of such therapies. Portal has developed a next-generation needle-free drug delivery platform that is computer-controlled, easy to use and patient preferred. Real time injection tracking via cloud-based connectivity enables patients and their care teams to manage their condition better and take charge of their wellbeing. Issued from Professor Ian Hunter’s research at the MIT BioInstrumentation Lab, this technology leverages advances in multiple disciplines such as high-power density electromagnetic actuators, ARM-based micro-electronics and embedded software, and energy storage. The company is at the commercial stage, preparing to launch a drug/device combination product with Takeda Pharmaceuticals in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. A live demonstration of the Portal Device will be presented at the Symposium.
Carlos Portela d’Arbeloff Career Development Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering.