A Dissolving Microneedle Patch to Treat Psoriasis

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In seritech Posted

When it comes to our skin, we tend to focus on the face. It is our most visible aspect. From fighting adolescent pimples, to living with “laugh lines” and treating age spots, our appearance reflects our life. Below the face, we have all experienced skin conditions on our bodies. One skin condition that never disappears is psoriasis. The latest skin research reveals that a dissolving microneedle patch to treat psoriasis could prove effective and safer than many traditional methods.

What Is Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disorder that affects up to 4% of the population, evenly divided between males and females. It can range from small patches on the knees, elbows, scalp, and back to complete body coverage.

Mild forms of psoriasis are an itchy, annoying problem. Extreme forms can have significant impacts on the day-to-day lives of patients. A clinical study reported in the British Journal of Dermatology found psoriasis is over five times more common in people of European descent than those of Asian descent.

There are five types of psoriasis, but around 90% of cases involve plaque psoriasis, marked by raised patches of flaking skin.

Most experts agree that psoriasis is a genetic disease, and “around one-third of people with psoriasis report a family history of the disease, and researchers have identified genetic loci associated with the condition.”

Psoriasis may lie dormant for years, only to be triggered by environmental factors. Winter and dry environments can worsen the impact of psoriasis, as can psychological stress, trauma, and certain medications.

Up to 30% of people living with psoriasis contract painful psoriatic arthritis. It is marked by swollen or sausage-like fingers and toes and pitted discoloured nails.

There are a variety of treatments for psoriasis but no known cure. A dissolving microneedle patch to treat psoriasis could help people who suffer from this disease.

Traditional Psoriasis Treatment

Treating psoriasis has typically relied on topical creams, light therapy, and oral or injected medication.

The most common topical therapy for mild to moderate psoriasis is a corticosteroid cream. Hydrocortisone is used for sensitive areas and larger patches, and stronger prescriptions for the tough-to-beat areas. While these have positive effects, prolonged use of more potent corticosteroids can lead to skin thinning and, over time, they may stop working.

Other topical applications include Vitamin D analogues, retinoids, calcineurin inhibitors, salicylic acid, anthralin and coal tar. Every topical treatment has limitations, including cost, the risk to pregnant, intending to become pregnant and breastfeeding women, messiness, and cancer risk.

Light therapies, oral prescriptions, and injections are available for moderate to severe psoriasis. However, these more aggressive treatments come with a host of potential side effects, some of which can be severe. The requirement to schedule professionally administered treatments can lead to reduced patient compliance.

Dissolving Microneedles for Innovative Treatments

Dissolving microneedles are on track to disrupt more than conventional health care. They have an endless list of potential applications.

Microneedles have been around for decades and come in four main varieties: solid, coated, hollow, and dissolving. They work by piercing the external barrier layer of skin – the stratum corneum – and putting the drug directly into your body’s circulating system via the epidermis – the upper layer of your skin’s connective tissue.”

Rapid advancements in microneedle technology in recent years have firmly established the dissolving microneedle as the preferred method. The dissolving microneedle painlessly delivers medicines, vaccines, and other treatments across the skin barrier and into the body.

Dissolving microneedles avoid the first pass metabolic effect that reduces the concentration of the active drug when it finally reaches its destination. They are more effective than ointments and gels and can be self-administered, unlike other supervised treatments and painful hypodermic needle injections.

It is recognized that “delivery through the transdermal route is a crucial substitute to hypodermic and oral administration to deliver drugs. It can resolve the problem of gastrointestinal or liver absorption and the deterioration of the drugs. It is non-invasive, painless, affordable, and self-administered. It can provide prolonged release of drugs to enhance patient compliance.”

Researchers are exploring a wide variety of treatment possibilities for dissolving microneedles. Numerous indicators point to dissolving microneedles as the new standard in drug delivery. From vaccines to cosmetic applications, the possibilities are endless.

Dissolving microneedles are recognized for efficacy, efficiency, economical delivery and, most importantly, safety. SeriTech resolves the challenge of lengthy delivery times with its 2-minute application time.

A Dissolving Microneedle Patch to Treat Psoriasis

There is widespread agreement in the bio-medical field that “improved percutaneous delivery system to overcome the stratum corneum barrier of psoriatic skin is vital to [an] antipsoriatic drug for topical therapy.” Dissolving microneedles to treat psoriasis offer this potential.

Dissolving microneedles can administer large molecules and provide a controlled drug to the targeted area. They are non-invasive and painless to apply in the comfort of your home for improved patient compliance and better patient outcomes. The enhanced drug efficacy results in dose reduction.

Researchers continue to investigate advanced methods to implement a dissolving microneedle patch to treat psoriasis. Methotrexate (MTX), a preferred treatment for moderate to severe psoriasis, has many side effects when administered orally or via injection. Oral administration suffers from the first-pass effect, and injections often result in poor patient compliance.

A recent study published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences reported that dissolving microneedles loaded with water a soluble MTX nanosuspension “could be a promising approach for effective localized and sustained intradermal delivery of MTX as a potential enhanced treatment for psoriasis.”

Pharmaceutical publication ONdrugDelivery highlighted a clinical study of dissolving microneedles to treat psoriasis. It found “the median decrease of modified Psoriasis Area Severity Index (mPASI; range 0 to 12), which is a sum of scores for plaque thickness, scaliness and redness, was 60% after one week’s application of the microneedle patch. This result shows that use of the microneedle patch significantly enhances the therapeutic effects of topical steroids and shows fast onset for the topical psoriasis treatment compared with conventional  application of topical steroids on the region (p <0.001).”

Dissolving microneedles to treat psoriasis have the potential to deliver medicines more effectively in a controlled, user-friendly manner.

In treating skin disorders like psoriasis, it is critical to limit the potential for irritation and infection.

The SeriTech Advantage

Most dissolving microneedles are plagued with lengthy delivery times that can require an application of up to several hours. There is a potential for skin irritation and possible infection, impacting efficacy and effectiveness.

SeriTech is about to introduce game-changing products leveraging the world’s first fast detaching dissolving microneedle. The 2-minute application time, compared to hours, dramatically improves outcomes, promoting faster healing at the targeted site without the irritation associated with conventional dissolving microneedles.

“Our proprietary products, with a rapid application time, set a new standard for treatments based on dissolving microneedles. This is an essential consideration when treating skin disorders such as psoriasis.”

Richard Joye, Co-founder

A Dissolving Microneedle with a 2-minute application time.
The SeriTech Fast-Detaching Dissolving Microneedle

SeriTech actively seeks partnerships with co-developers to develop and try products that will make breakthroughs, using the fast-detaching dissolving microneedle patch to improve lives everywhere.