West Makes Minority Investment in Dublin-Based Latch Medical, a Developer of Vaccine and Biologics Delivery Platforms

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Aug 11, 2022, 06:00 ET

EXTON, Pa., Aug. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST), a global leader in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration, today announced it has made a strategic investment in Latch Medical, a Dublin-based leader in next-generation vaccine and biologics delivery technology that is pioneering a new approach to intradermal delivery.

"West's investment in Latch Medical advances our leadership in innovation through a dedicated focus on the needs of patients," says Robert Segura, Vice President, Corporate Development, West Pharmaceutical Services. "The methods by which medicines are delivered to patients continue to evolve to meet their desire for ease-of-use and effectiveness. Latch Medical's innovative intradermal-delivery technology fits well into this strategy."

West joins Latch Medical's existing investors Atlantic Bridge and Enterprise Ireland. West will take a minority ownership stake in Latch Medical.

Latch Medical's Pharma Latch technology offers two delivery device platforms that allow for intradermal delivery of vaccines and biologics with rapid, consistent dosing. The technology anchors securely to the skin and uses either hollow or coated microneedles to deliver and disperse vaccine and biologics payloads. The technology is a low-cost platform that can facilitate higher payloads than microneedle technologies developed in the past. It requires minimal training for clinicians to use.

"We have put our extensive experience of skin biomechanics and understanding of the challenges of intradermal delivery into the development of Pharma Latch. It is a novel technology that can replace traditional injections and infusions and look to realize the potential of intradermal delivery," said Ronan Byrne, CEO, Latch. "With this investment from West, we can rapidly increase the impact of our technology."

As evidenced by the investment in Latch Medical, West continues to make startup investments in the medical device space to create and advance offerings that allow for care to be delivered more effectively and efficiently.

"West's commitment to making these types of investments help to drive innovation that results in providing total care through better outcomes and supports innovative technologies that serve patients," said Segura.

About West

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. is a leading provider of innovative, high-quality injectable solutions and services. As a trusted partner to established and emerging drug developers, West helps ensure the safe, effective containment and delivery of life-saving and life-enhancing medicines for patients. With approximately 10,000 team members across 50 sites worldwide, West helps support our customers by delivering over 45 billion components and devices each year.

Headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, and in business for nearly a century, West in its fiscal year 2021 generated $2.83 billion in net sales. West is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: WST) and is included on the Standard & Poor's 500 index. For more information, visit www.westpharma.com.

About Latch Medical

Latch Medical was spun out of University College Dublin by its co-Founders Ronan Byrne and Nicky Bertollo in 2019. Based in Dublin, Ireland it is focused on the development of the 'Pharma Latch' drug and vaccine delivery platform. The platform looks to offer the benefits of intradermal delivery in a simple, highly cost-effective manner. For more information, visit www.pharmalatch.com.

SOURCE West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.