FAIR LAWN, NJ, Nov 09, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Vyteris, Inc., developer of the first FDA-approved active transdermal patch and an innovator in alternative drug delivery technology, today announced that it has received a grant of $489,000 under the U.S. Government's Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) program. The grants will be used to advance Vyteris' smart patch technology for the delivery of therapeutic medicines planned for use to treat female infertility and diabetes.
"This grant furthers the development of Vyteris' active transdermal technology in an effort to provide safer, more effective, more economic and more patient-friendly therapies for a broad range of indications," said Haro Hartounian, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Vyteris. "Federal government support is an essential piece of our short term financing strategies to further our programs."
The QTDP program was created by the U.S. Congress as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed on March 23, 2010. Eligibility for the grant requires that a project, as determined by the Department of Health and Human Services, have a reasonable potential to result in new therapies to treat areas of unmet medical need or prevent, detect or treat chronic or acute diseases and conditions; reduce the long-term growth of health care costs in the United States; or significantly advance the goal of curing cancer within 30 years.
About Vyteris, Inc. Vyteris, Inc. is the maker of the first active, ready-to-use drug delivery patch (LidoSite(R)) to receive marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Vyteris' proprietary active transdermal smart patch technology delivers drugs comfortably through the skin using low-level electrical energy (iontophoresis). This smart patch technology is intended to allow precise dosing, giving physicians and patients control in the rate, dosage and pattern of drug delivery that may result in considerable therapeutic, economic, and lifestyle advantages over existing methods of drug administration. Vyteris has successfully delivered a peptide non-invasively using its system, where the Company demonstrated achievement of therapeutic levels of a peptide without using any needles. For more information, please visit us at www.vyteris.com.