Altea Therapeutics

Altea Therapeutics, founded in 1998 by Jonathan Eppstein, was a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing a novel transdermal drug delivery system. The company aimed to provide a painless and convenient alternative to injections for a wide range of medications. Altea secured significant venture capital, raising over $49.8 million from investors including Venrock and Domain Associates to fund its operations and research.

The core of Altea's business was its proprietary PassPort® Transdermal Delivery System. This technology was designed to overcome the limitations of conventional patches, which can only deliver small, lipid-soluble molecules. The PassPort system utilized short bursts of focused thermal energy to create temporary, microscopic pores in the skin's outer layer. This enabled the delivery of large-molecule drugs like proteins, peptides, and vaccines, as well as water-soluble small molecules, directly into the body. The system offered the potential for controlled delivery, mimicking either a rapid injection or a slow drip, and aimed to improve patient compliance by eliminating the need for needles.

The company's business model revolved around licensing its PassPort® technology to pharmaceutical partners for specific drugs. A major milestone was a 2009 agreement with Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals to develop a transdermal patch for Byetta, a drug for type 2 diabetes. This deal included upfront payments, potential milestones of up to $46 million, and royalties. Altea also had collaborations with other companies, such as Hospira, and was developing its own pipeline of products, including patches for insulin, pain management (fentanyl), and Parkinson's disease. Despite its promising technology and partnerships, Altea Therapeutics faced financial difficulties and ran out of capital. The company declared bankruptcy in December 2011, and its assets, including all patents and technology, were acquired by the Japanese materials manufacturer Nitto Denko in April 2012. Keywords: transdermal drug delivery, patch-based delivery, needle-free injections, PassPort System, microporation, protein delivery, peptide delivery, vaccine delivery, Jonathan Eppstein, Eli Lilly partnership, Amylin partnership, Hospira collaboration, Byetta patch, insulin patch, fentanyl patch, Nitto Denko acquisition, specialty pharmaceutical, drug delivery technology, noninvasive delivery