CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 1, 2015 - Portal Instruments, Inc., an emerging leader in the development of innovative drug delivery systems, announced today that Robert Langer, Sc.D., MIT Institute Professor, and Peter Hunter, Ph.D., University of Auckland Distinguished Professor have joined the company’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“We are thrilled to welcome two esteemed biotechnology leaders, Professor Robert Langer and Professor Peter Hunter, to our team,” said Dr. Patrick Anquetil, Chief Executive Officer of Portal Instruments. “We will benefit greatly from their combined and extensive expertise in drug delivery, physiological modeling, and medical device development, as we transition our efforts from research and development to clinical studies and future commercialization.”
Professors Langer and Hunter will join current Scientific Advisory Board Chair, Ian Hunter, Ph.D., co-founder of Portal Instruments and MIT Hatsopoulos Professor of Mechanical Engineering, as Portal continues to develop a digitally-controlled, needlefree drug injection system to simultaneously transform the delivery of modern medicines and improve the patient experience.
Anquetil continued, “We look forward to the insights and contributions Professors Langer and Hunter will make, to push our device to the next level. We believe their unique perspectives with regard to the intricacies of delivery physiology, design for inherent patient variability, and the implementation of clinical investigations will provide a strong benefit to the company.”
About Robert Langer
Dr. Langer, a David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT, is the only person ever to receive both the United States National Medal of Science and the United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation, as well as being elected to all three United States National Academies. He has also served as a member and Chairman of the Food and Drug Administration’s Science Board, its highest advisory board. He has written more than 1,300 articles and holds nearly 1,100 patents, many of which have been licensed or sublicensed to more than 300 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, and medical device companies worldwide. Professor Langer has been named one of the 25 most important individuals in biotechnology in the world by both Forbes and BioWorld, and he is recognized as the most cited engineer in history. He has received more than 200 honors and awards, including his recent Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, as well as the Breakthrough Prize, the Wolf Prize in chemistry, the Kyoto Prize, the Charles Stark Draper Prize, the Millennium Technology Prize, and 25 honorary doctorates.
Professor Langer received his B.S. from Cornell University and his Sc.D. from MIT, both in Chemical Engineering, and has been involved in the founding of over 20 biotechnology companies.
About Peter Hunter
Dr. Peter Hunter is currently a Professor of Engineering Science and Director of the Bioengineering Institute at the University of Auckland, Director of the New Zealand Medical Technologies Centre of Research Excellence and Director of Computational Physiology at Oxford University. He holds honorary or visiting Professorships at a number of Universities around the world.
He completed an engineering degree in 1971 in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, a Master of Engineering degree in 1972 on solving the equations of arterial blood flow and a DPhil (Ph.D.) in Physiology at the University of Oxford in 1975 on finite element modeling of ventricular mechanics. His major research interests since then have been modeling many aspects of the human body using specially developed computational algorithms and an anatomical and biophysical-based approach which incorporates detailed microstructural measurements and material properties into the continuum models.
Professor Hunter has received numerous accolades for his work and in 2010 was appointed to the New Zealand (NZ) Order of Merit. In 2009, he was awarded the Rutherford Medal, New Zealand’s top science award, as well as the KEA World Class NZ award in Research, Science, Technology and Academia. He is on the Scientific Advisory Boards of a number of Research Institutes in Europe, the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society (London and NZ), the World Council for Biomechanics, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the International Academy of Medical & Biological Engineering. He is currently President-elect for the World Council of Biomechanics and Chair-Elect for the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE).
About Portal Instruments
Portal Instruments is transforming the delivery of modern medicines and enhancing the standard of care for chronic diseases. Portal’s unique platform technology is capable of injecting today’s new biological drugs, regardless of volume or viscosity, with minimal sensation and time, providing the patient with enabling connectivity to optimize their disease challenges. The computer-controlled delivery technology is silent, innocuous, and highly customizable across a large variety of medical, animal, agricultural, and cosmetic applications. For more information, visit: www.portalinstruments.com or follow @portaltx on Twitter. Contact Information Dr. Patrick Anquetil Chief Executive Officer media@portalinstruments.com
For more information, please contact Jane Owen at Jane@Janeowenpr.com, or (323) 819-1122
