Netherlands-based medical electrospinning company Vivolta has signed a long-term partnership with UK company Neurochase to manufacture micro-catheters thatdeliver advanced therapies to the brain.

The deal between the two will see Neurochase provided with electrospun components for the company’s micro-catheter delivery system which is designed to use electrical signals that help drugs cross over the blood-brain barrier. Dubbed the Neurochase Convection Enhanced Delivery (CED), the company is working towards what it calls a scalable system that will allow clinicians to directly target specific targets in the brain and central nervous system.

First practised in the 1990s, electrospinning is the manufacturing process by which a high-voltage power supply generates an electric field that draws charged threads of the polymer solution from a syringe needle, forming continuous metallic fibres that can have diameters as small as nanometers to micrometres in thickness.

Neurochase’s CED system comes with a catheter with a pressure gradient at its tip, allowing for a differential in air pressure that pushes the drug through the interstitial space in the brain allowing for homogenous distribution and maximising the therapeutic effect.

Sharon Kane, CEO of Neurochase said: “The VIVOLTA relationship has been hugely important in finding a solution to one of the most technically challenging components of the Neurochase delivery system. We are excited to be taking our transformative product forward together into large-scale manufacture with such a knowledgeable, skilled and motivated team.”

This form of CED drug delivery is currently being used in clinical trials to treat a range of neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, brain tumours, and Fronto Temporal Dementia according to the UK company, with Neurochase planning to enter clinical trials with its micro-catheter delivery system in collaboration with its clients in 2025.

Denis Leissing, CEO of VIVOLTA, said: “This partnership builds on our already successful product development work with Neurochase, establishing a long-term manufacturing relationship. It is a great example of our full suite of electrospinning solutions from product development to commercial manufacturing.”