Franklin, Mass — Echo Therapeutics, Inc, a company developing the Symphony tCGM System as a noninvasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring (tCGM) system and the Prelude SkinPrep System for transdermal drug delivery, announced that it won the prestigious 2011 North American Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology.
The Prelude SkinPrep System uses a needle-free, painless technology that removes the outermost layer of skin, the stratum corneum, to permit topical drug delivery or needle-free analyte analysis. For its initial use, Echo’s partner, Ferndale Pharma Group, has applied to the FDA for permission to market the Prelude SkinPrep System to enhance the delivery of topical 4% lidocaine.
Echo is now accelerating the final Prelude manufacturing validation and scale-up in order to prepare for commercial launch and it expects marketing efforts of the Prelude SkinPrep System to commence in the third quarter of this year, pending FDA approval. The FDA 510(k)submission was supported by clinical data from a study that demonstrated skin anesthesia with 4% lidocaine was achieved within five minutes following use of the Prelude System, compared to the customary 30-to-60-minute wait.
"We are pleased that Frost & Sullivan has recognized the significance of Echo’s Prelude SkinPrep technology in drug delivery," said Echo’s Chairman and CEO Patrick T. Mooney, MD. "We believe that 2011 will be a transformative year for Echo and our shareholders and we feel that this recognition is well-deserved and demonstrates the value of our technology."
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation of the Year is given for the development and introduction of a new technology, a well-designed product family as well as significant product performance contributions. Frost & Sullivan found Echo’s performance superior to its key competitors, based on analytical tools that integrate both quantitative and qualitative metrics.
"Prelude SkinPrep overcomes the primary obstacle to achieving therapeutic drug levels via the transdermal route – the brick-and-mortar-like stratum corneum – making it possible to transdermally deliver a compound in a manner that preserves the integrity of the skin, reduces the risk of infection, and improves the quality of care," concluded Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst, Misty Hughes. "Echo Therapeutics’ innovative platform technology goes beyond the function and capabilities of traditional passive transdermal technologies, and has the potential to greatly expand the range of molecules that can be delivered and extracted transdermally.
SOURCE: Echo Therapeutics
