West makes minority investment in Dublin-based vaccine and biologics startup Latch Medical

West Pharmaceutical Services, a global player in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration, announced it has made a strategic investment in Latch Medical, a Dublin-based startup leading in next-generation vaccine and biologics delivery technology that is pioneering a new approach to intradermal delivery.

Robert Segura, Vice President, Corporate Development, West Pharmaceutical Services: "West's investment in Latch Medical advances our leadership in innovation through a dedicated focus on the needs of patients. The methods by which medicines are delivered to patients continue to evolve to meet their desire for ease-of-use and effectiveness. Latch Medical's innovative intradermal-delivery technology fits well into this strategy. West's commitment to making these types of investments help to drive innovation that results in providing total care through better outcomes and supports innovative technologies that serve patients."

West joins Latch Medical's existing investors Atlantic Bridge and Enterprise Ireland. West will take a minority ownership stake in Latch Medical. Latch Medical's Pharma Latch technology offers two delivery device platforms that allow for intradermal delivery of vaccines and biologics with rapid, consistent dosing. The technology anchors securely to the skin and uses either hollow or coated microneedles to deliver and disperse vaccine and biologics payloads. The technology is a low-cost platform that can facilitate higher payloads than microneedle technologies developed in the past. It requires minimal training for clinicians to use.  

Ronan Byrne, CEO, Latch: "We have put our extensive experience of skin biomechanics and understanding of the challenges of intradermal delivery into the development of Pharma Latch. It is a novel technology that can replace traditional injections and infusions and look to realize the potential of intradermal delivery. With this investment from West, we can rapidly increase the impact of our technology."

As evidenced by the investment in Latch Medical, West continues to make startup investments in the medical device space to create and advance offerings that allow for care to be delivered more effectively and efficiently.

www.westpharma.com