HOW PORTAL INSTRUMENTS IS USING PHARMAPACK TO BUILD ITS GROWING BUSINESS

Portal Instruments, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is disrupting needle-free injection technology. We spoke to Barbara Taylor to learn more about how the firm is using patient data, its plans for the future and the role played by Pharmapack in its success.

Please tell us a little about Portal Instruments.
We’re a private company founded in 2014 as a spin-out from MIT, and we develop needle-free injectors.
Needle-free injectors have been around for a while. However, we’re using MIT’s technology to develop them in a completely new way. Our products offer a very different patient experience, with no sharps, less pain and less noise than last-gen devices. Compared to needles and syringes, patients prefer our device.
Our injectors are also data devices, so we can collect, anonymize, and aggregate patient data on how they’re used. That helps our pharma
customers see patient trends illustrated by rich data, which in turn helps them make better business decisions.

You took part in our Start-up Hub last year, and this year you’re joining as an exhibitor. What made you come back?
As a small company, we need exposure, and Pharmapack gives us that. We gave a talk at the Conference last year and we really appreciate the opportunity to reach a wider audience and have deeper follow-up conversations at our booth. So we decided to become an exhibitor.

What aims do you have when you exhibit?
We want to let the industry know who Portal is,and tell them about the progress we’re making. We’re moving pretty fast for this industry, with some substantial changes year over year.
On top of that, the quality of attendees means there are always good chances to network and find out what’s going on. It has more of a European focus than the US shows we attend, so that provides a new audience for us.

So what does the future hold for Portal Instruments?
Last November, we announced a collaboration with Takeda, to develop and commercialize our device for use with one of their medications, Entyvio. So we’re excited about launching and hitting the market with them.
We’re also looking forward to expanding into other partnerships, and researching other applications and use cases where needle-free could help patients.

And will you be returning to Pharmapack?
Yes, we’ve already committed to exhibiting in 2019. We’ve made some very valuable connections here and look forward to continuing to expand and deepen our industry relationships.