AstraZeneca funds 'robotic pill' company in pursuit of oral biologics

Rani Therapeutics, the developer of a robotic platform that converts injectable drugs into pills has closed its latest round of funding, with new investors including AstraZeneca

Rani has developed a technology platform to convert injectable drugs such as TNF-alpha Inhibitors, interleukin antibodies and basal insulin among others into pills.

The robotic pill consists of an ingestible polymer and tiny hollow needles made of sugar that are designed to safely deliver drugs to the small intestine, according to the Wall Street Journal.

With its latest round of funding, the company's total investment is more than $70 million and has come from companies including AstraZeneca, Novartis, Google Ventures, Buttonwood, GF Ventures, KPC Pharmaceuticals, InCube Ventures and VentureHealth, among others.

The funding will support expansion of the team, new facilities and manufacturing scale up, according to Rani Therapeutics.

Rani, founded in 2012 and spun out of InCube Labs, is developing a novel technology platform to convert injectable drugs such as TNF-alpha inhibitors, interleukin antibodies, basal insulin and GLP-1 into oral pills.

Mir Imran, chairman and CEO of Rani Therapeutics, said: "We developed Rani Therapeutics with a clear vision – give patients suffering from chronic illnesses a convenient, easy and painless alternative to subcutaneous injections.

“The delivery of large molecules orally is considered the holy grail of drug delivery and there have been many failed attempts before us.  We understand the magnitude of the problem we are pursuing, and we are confident that our approach has the potential to radically change the way biologics are administered to patients.

"Our team has created a breakthrough drug delivery platform supported by a solid patent portfolio and that is what is attracting potential partners and investors. We are pleased with our progress, and are now laser focused on demonstrating value for a variety of therapies."

Jiang Zhang, managing director, Ping An Ventures, said: "Delivering biologics orally would have a tremendous impact on patients, especially for those suffering from chronic diseases that require them to regularly take medications.

"Rani is developing a revolutionary platform and we are very excited to support the company in this exciting next phase."