ArrayPatch, a spinout company from the School of Pharmacy at UCC, was founded by Dr Waleed Faisal to commercialise DerMapTM, a proprietary microneedle-based drug delivery technology he co-invented with Professor Abina Crean. ArrayPatch is positioning itself in the dermatological market, focusing on innovative patch formulations of generic drugs.

The first DerMapTM product being developed, ITZ-DerMapTM, is for the targeted treatment of onychomycosis, or nail fungal infection, a global market with over $6B and where significant unmet medical need remains. The pipeline also includes applications in skin cancer, psoriasis, hormone replacement therapy and migraine, markets worth a combined $70B. Developed with over €1 million in funding from Enterprise Ireland, DerMapTM is a pain-free, dissolvable microneedle patch that releases medication under the skin on administration. The technology focuses on microneedles predominantly composed of meltable drugs, which are solid at room temperature and can form a glassy, amorphous needle-like structure upon melting and cooling in moulds. This patentprotected approach allows for high drug loading, with microneedles comprising 100% of the meltable drug, significantly enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of transdermal drug delivery.

The technology has received several awards, including Innovation of the Year at the Pharma Industry Awards 2022, winner of the 2023 IDEATE Ireland competition, and finalist at Big Ideas 2024. Waleed was named in the HPN Professional Top 100 – a prestigious annual list which celebrates Ireland’s top hospital and healthcare achievers.

Waleed led the spin-out of ArrayPatch from UCC in June 2024, and has since built an experienced management team around him, with proven track record in microneedle manufacturing, regulatory approval, product launch, fundraising and business development positions the company for success. The team includes Dr Tord Labuda (CSO), Ryan Bamsey (COO) and Darren Cunningham (CFO). Together they bring relevant expertise from companies such as Leo Pharma, Xeolas, Elan Corporation plc, Amarin Corporation plc and Innoture Ltd. ArrayPatch has attracted early angel investment and expects to raise up to €3 million in an initial seed round, followed by an €8-10 million Series A round to support clinical trials and the first product launch in 2028/29. The spin-out was supported by the SPRINT accelerator programme and is currently based in the GatewayUCC Incubation Centre.

ArrayPatch is now seeking €3M in seed fund investment, primarily to advance the ITZ-DerMapTM product to clinical proof of concept over the next 30 months.

This case study originally appeared in UCC's Innovation Impact Report for 2024, which can be read here .