San
Jose, CA's Rani Therapeutics, developer of a "robotic pill" to convert
injectable drugs into oral pills, announced that
it has closed its latest funding round, putting the company's VC haul
above $70 million as it seeks to expand the team, add new facilities and
scale up manufacturing.
Rani
is testing the feasibility of its robotic pill on Novartis' proprietary
biologics. Once the drug delivery tech passes through the stomach,
the slightly acidic fluids of the small intestine dissolve the pill's
casing, as well as a nanoscale valve, causing previously separated
citric acid and sodium bicarbonate to mix and form carbon dioxide, which
in turn inflates a small balloon tipped with needlelike
structures made of sugar, according to prior FierceDrugDelivery coverage of Rani.
The
needles rise on the edge of the balloon and embed themselves in the
small intestine. No pain is felt because the organ doesn't have any pain
receptors. Next, the needles detach from the robotic pill and release
drugs into the proximate blood vessels while dissolving in the body.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the pill passes through the body.
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