Debiotech received today the prestigious Swiss Technology Award for its novel MEMS nano-micropump for insulin delivery and its painless microneedle delivery patch. The prize was handed over in Baden by Swiss officials and represents a significant recognition for the technology developed by Debiotech in Switzerland in the diabetes and MEMS field. Debiotech also received the Special Prize from the Vontobel foundation as “Contribution to the Future”. A total of 52 highly innovative projects were considered for the Prize of which 16 received the Swiss Technology Award as recognition for the High Technology aspect of their product and potential to contribute to worldwide markets.
“We are very proud of receiving today the Swiss Technology Award 2006, as a recognition of the significant advances made in Switzerland in the MEMS field and contribution to the potential treatment of such an important diseases as diabetes” , says Frédéric Neftel, President and CEO of Debiotech. “The product developed by Debiotech over the last 5 years is intended to represent the least intrusive solution to diabetes therapy, by combining a miniaturized micropump with a painless microneedle patch. In addition, the highly precise control of nano-insulin delivery makes it an ideal candidate for future close-loop systems, where fine tuning of insulin delivery will be particularly of interest in combination with continuous glucose monitoring. In addition, the cost effectiveness of MEMS manufacturing techniques should make our product available to every patient without need for a significant capital investment while taking advantage of a medical treatment as close as possible to the physiological needs. We therefore hope to contribute, in every aspect, to the improvement of diabetes therapy in the near future. Finally. this Prize is also an important recognition for the High level Swiss Engineers and Technicians who have actively participated to the development of such a challenging technology and made it a very promising product. The result is a symbol for miniaturization and precision, which has always been the heart of Swiss craftsmanship and expertise, within a tradition for Swiss Excellence and Quality.”
“Debiotech has always been at the heart of novel medical drug delivery systems and the nano-micropump for insulin delivery certainly represents one of its significant achievements over the last couple of years. The nano-micropump not only integrates miniaturization and precision into one single MEMS chip component (the size of a penny), but also monitors permanently its functioning and triggers an alarm in case of potentially failure event. Even an occlusion at the far distal end of the infusion line can be identified within a single hundred nanoliter stroke, thereby informing the patient before any under delivery of insulin may occur.” says Niklaus Schneeberger, Head of the insulin project. “The entire device can be made in such a small size that it can be comfortably worn anywhere on the body under ones clothes. The tiny doses and high precision are an enabling factor in the development of an artificial pancreas, the next step in the evolution of Diabetes care. In addition, the novel microneedles developed by Debiotech also contribute to the patient’s comfort by offering a painless delivery method which fits much better to a normal active patient’s life. Such micro needles are sharp enough to easily penetrate the skin and feature a protected through hole for the drug delivery, but they are so small that they do not reach the nerves in the skin and thus cause no pain.” “Diabetes affects today more than 100 million of people in the world and it is growing at a much faster rate than the population itself. About one out of ten patients needs a very constraining therapy, which includes a strict planning of every day’s life and several injections of insulin.” said Laurent-Dominique Piveteau, Business Development Manager Microsystems. “Pumps offer an excellent alternative, improving the quality of life by simplifying the therapy and making it safer. They are of particular interest for children who are not able to handle their disease or for active people who need more flexibility. With a new product like ours, we expect to change the perception of a pump and open this therapy to a broader number of patients.” As prize holder, Debiotech has been invited to represent Switzerland at the Medica Exhibition in Dusseldorf in 2006, the leading Medical Device exhibition in Europe.
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