Florida sweetens crowdfunding

Prometheon Pharma, a startup from Florida University, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for its needleless injection product. The technology could be beneficial particularly for people who need daily injections, such as patients suffering from diabetes. 

The crowdfunding campaign, set up on Indiegogo and called #NoPricks, is aiming to raise $1m. As of the time of writing, the company has secured $4,286 with 36 days left.

Prometheon, which is based at the university’s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator, has developed a patch which can deliver insulin for up to seven days. The patch can be safely removed at any moment to stop insulin delivery. The startup has dubbed the product TruePatch. The concept could also be applied to other drugs besides insulin.

Prometheon Pharma has been getting ready for this crowdfunding campaign for several years, and has filed patents, sought out traditional funding, and spent a lot of time and effort on research and development. 

The money raised via Indiegogo will be used for large animal studies required by the US Food and Drug Administration before applying for human trials.

Patti Breedlove, director of the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator, said: “These kinds of companies have long childhoods. They need a lot of money for many years to get their products to market, so they’re always looking for new sources of funding.”