Vaxess Technologies has received the final tranche of its $8.2m series A round led by MIT-affiliated incubator and venture capital fund The Engine.

Vaxess Technologies, a US-based drug delivery patch developer based on research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tufts University, has closed an $8.2m series A round led by The Engine. Bioinnovation Capital also backed the round, which was raised over multiple tranches, though further details were not revealed. The Engine is an incubator and venture capital fund launched by MIT in 2016. Founded in 2012, Vaxess is working on a smart drug delivery patch, Mimix, that relies on silk firboin – a structural protein found in silk – to provide sustained dermal injection of therapeutics and vaccines without the patch itself remaining on the patient’s skin. The patch mimics the prolonged exposure during a natural infection and is placed on the skin for a few minutes, but the system continues to deliver the treatment for up to several weeks. Mimix can be stored at room temperature and applied by the patient without assistance from a medical professional. In conjunction with the series A round, Vaxess appointed Purnanand Sarma to its board of directors. Sarma is the president and chief executive of biotechnology developer Immunome. Ann DeWitt, general partner at The Engine and a board director of Vaxess, said: “With Mimix’s success and range of capabilities, not only has Vaxess pioneered a gamechanger for medicine delivery, the company now has the potential to target a vast range of indications. “We look forward to helping accelerate Vaxess’ progress in bringing to market the simplest, easiest and most effective way to deliver medicines and vaccines.”

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Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).