Wearable electro-pharmaceutical transforms epilepsy care
Remagine Labs has developed the world’s first smart electro-pharmaceutical capable of transporting epilepsy drugs through the skin with personalised control of dosage.
Epilepsy is a disabling, long-term, neurological condition characterised by recurring, unprovoked seizures. Epilepsy is the fourth most common brain disorder in the world and impacts around 3 in every 100 Australians, with more than 10,000 cases per year. Seizure disorders can be caused genetically or by anything that damages the brain, including injury, stroke or brain diseases like dementia. While anyone can develop epilepsy, it is more commonly diagnosed in young children and older adults.

While epilepsy cannot be cured, seizures can be controlled. Medications are the first choice for epilepsy treatment. While common drugs used to treat epilepsy can be very effective when taken properly, 80% of patients don’t take the right amount of medication. Successful management depends on consistent delivery of medications at the right dosage over time. Patients often have difficulty remembering to take their medication, which can lead to breakthrough seizures. Approximately one third of people living with epilepsy have uncontrolled seizures which can lead to hospitalisations, reduced quality-of-life and even death.

The brainchild of Prof Stan Skafidas at the University of Melbourne, Remagine Labs has combined expertise in printable electronics, drug formulation and transdermal drug delivery with proven commercialisation leadership to develop a smart, electro-pharmaceutical wearable, the world’s first capable of administering epilepsy drugs through the skin for a week-long period.
Existing transdermal techniques, such as those found in nicotine patches, rely on passive diffusion that significantly limits which molecules can be delivered transdermally.
What makes Remagine Labs’ patch unique is that the release of medication can be actively controlled, allowing adjustment based on patient weight or other factors, offering a personalised approach to drug delivery. Validated at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences using a porcine skin model, the company has demonstrated the ability to deliver the target drug at amounts greater than 10X that of passive patches, reaching the required therapeutic levels in the bloodstream more consistently than their oral counterparts.
Remagine Labs has worked closely with ANFF-VIC Node Director Prof Nico Voelcker and the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication to produce novel electrode designs for the transdermal electro-pharmaceutical, applying coatings of various materials to ensure long life and safety when used by patients on the skin. The team has also begun fabricating new micropillar designs suitable for larger molecules that cannot typically pass through the skin. A $3M grant from the Australian Government Cooperative Research Centres Project (CRC-P) scheme is enabling further development of the patch in preparation for clinical trials.
Remagine Labs’ innovative wearable device significantly enhances patients’ ability to adhere to their prescribed medication regimens, thereby reducing the incidence of breakthrough seizures and improving overall health outcomes. By integrating electronic control capabilities with advanced AI algorithms, this technology heralds a new era of personalised drug delivery, offering hope for more effective and tailored epilepsy management in the future.
Published 15 October 2024 in ANFF’s 2024 Casebook ‘ANFF NEXT‘
Posted 14 January 2025