The First, Core
Technology DEN, the world’s first microneedle manufacturing technology

Drug delivery system

The limitations of conventional drug
delivery systems

  • 770 million people suffer from injection phobia.

    While it is usually possible to deliver biological drug substances by injection, more than 10 percent of the world’s population experience difficulties with their medical treatment because they suffer from injection phobia.

  • 6.6 trillion won Annual cost of
    vaccine distribution

    Vaccines and biological drugs incur high distribution costs due to the need to refrigerate or freeze them and hence cannot be supplied to underdeveloped countries seamlessly due to the poor transportation infrastructure.

  • 1.3 million people killed/year

    Needles contaminated with another patient’s blood are the most dangerous form of medical waste as 1.3 million people are killed each year due to infection by a contaminated syringe.

A new concept of drug delivery system that overcomes the limitations of conventional transdermal delivery

Soluble microneedle patches, also called "painless injections", are a type of transdermal delivery system that delivers drugs efficiently by penetrating the skin with a needle as thin as a mosquito's proboscis. This new concept of drug delivery system eliminates pain, trauma, infection, fear, and repulsion, which are the main disadvantages of using conventional syringes.

Since this system of delivery does not involve passing a drug through the gastrointestinal tract, it can be administered irrespective of pH, enzymes, foods, or gastrointestinal tract movements that affect drug absorption. It has other advantages in that it is simple to use and enables long-term, continuous administration as well as easy control of blood concentration.

Jan D. Bos and Marcus M. H. M. Meinardi et al. Exp. Dermatol, 9. (2000) 165-169)

Patch-type painless injectionDissolving
microneedle

A dissolving microneedle patch is a method of effectively delivering drugs by penetrating the skin with a needle structure as thin as mosquito's proboscis. The microneedle patch is a new concept of drug delivery system, also called a patch-type painless injection, that combines the simplicity of a patch with the efficient drug delivery of an injection.

Features of the microneedle

  • Solidifying agent
  • Delivery of
    polymer materials
  • Storage at room temperature and convenient distribution

Storage at room temperature and convenient distribution. The solidified active ingredients are delivered to the body by a microneedle that penetrates the skin barrier to maximize the effect.

Advantages of the dissolving microneedle

Convenient use
  • Convenient portability
  • Can be used regardless of the patient's diet
  • Administration is not constrained by the patient's condition
Low side effects
  • Reduced gastrointestinal side effects from oral administration
  • Prevention of secondary infection by injection
Painless preparations
  • Painless patch by penetrating skin
  • Can be used to treat people with needle phobia
  • Ease of use for children and senior citizens

Manufactured within 5 minutes
without heatingDEN manufacturing technology

Raphas’ DEN technology makes it possible to manufacture microneedles
without loss or deformation of the active ingredients

Raphas has pioneered a unique DEN (Droplet Extension) technology.

DEN manufacturing process

Droplets of active ingredients are dropped on to a patch, and the patch is put in contact with an opposite patch and extended to form the microneedle. It is then solidified by blowing, separated, and manufactured into two microneedle patches, one on top and the other underneath it, simultaneously.
Compared to the manufacturing by molding of rival companies, Raphas’ unique process is simple and can be mass produced easily to deliver bio drugs.

Advantages of
DEN manufacturing technology

  • Manufacturing time Less than
    5 minutes'
  • Heating process Not required
  • Fixed amount
    dispensing     Possible
  • Dispensing
    capacity     ~5mg
  • Melting process
    conditions     Easy-to-change
  • Permeability High
  • Patent protection Until 2033

Applicability of microneedle technology