Humacyte Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

8 drug delivery innovations you should know

Innovations in drug delivery never stop and, over the past 12 months or so, a wide variety have come under the spotlight.

Constant progress continues in the diabetes space, both in the form of insulin delivery and other drug delivery methods. Elsewhere, we see implants, patches, syringes and more showcasing just how many ways we can deliver therapeutics.

About a year ago, we clued in readers to a list of six drug delivery innovations they should know. Here, we provide a couple of updates on those and try to introduce a few more developments that you should know:

The latest in automated insulin delivery tech

Automated insulin delivery represents one of the most high-profile markets in drug delivery, with the technology providing potentially life-saving therapy for people with diabetes.

The Mobi automated insulin pump with the accompanying mobile app. [Image courtesy of Tandem Diabetes Care]Last year’s roundup included the already FDA-cleared Omn…

The medtech companies potentially affected by Silicon Valley Bank’s closure

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation today closed Silicon Valley Bank, which could expose medtech companies with relations to the bank.

According to SVB’s website, half of all U.S. VC-backed tech and life science companies used the Santa Clara, California–based bank.

The FDIC — appointed as receiver in the closing — created the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara (DINB). This protects insured depositors, the FDIC said in a news release. At the time of closing, the FDIC immediately transferred to the DINB all insured deposits of Silicon Valley Bank.

Silicon Valley Bank’s reach extends to medtech

BTIG analysts issued a list of companies that could be exposed to Silicon Valley Bank. This includes exposure through loan agreements, revolving credit facilities, and more.

The analysts stressed that the list is only based on these companies’ most recent filings. It lacks full additional detail that …

Fresenius Medical Care investing $25M in Humacyte as it goes public in SPAC deal

Fresenius Medical Care announced today that it will invest $25 million in Humacyte in connection with the merger of Humacyte and a SPAC.

Humacyte, which develops implantable human acellular vessels for multiple vascular repair, reconstruction and replacement, entered into a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), leading Fresenius to increase its position in the newly combined entity as the lead investor of a private investment in public equity (PIPE), according to a news release.

Fresenius acquired a stake in Humacyte in 2018 for $150 million and agreed on a strategic partnership and now its original stake will be exchanged for shares in the combined company, which will remain under the Humacyte name and will trade on the Nasdaq market under the “HUMA” ticker.

Among several applications, Humacyte develops its implantable vessels to be non-immunogenic and available “off the shelf” for uses such as vascular access…

Humacyte to go public via SPAC

The biotech platform company Humacyte is merging with Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp. (NSDQ:AHAC) (“AHAC”), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

AHAC’s shareholders approved the deal today and plan to submit results from the meeting to the SEC via a Form 8-K document.

The two organizations expect the merger to finalize on August 26 and stock shares to begin trading under the tickers “HUMA” and “HUMAW” a day later.

Based in Durham, N.C., Humacyte specializes in implantable bioengineered human tissues and organs, including acellular tissues for treating various ailments.

The company’s first product candidate, known as HAV, includes vascular cells on a polymer mesh that eventually form a cylindrical vessel structure. HAV is the first product to receive Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation from FDA. It has also received FDA fast track designation.

Former Duke University professor Laura Niklason and Duke Un…