Draft:Anodyne Nanotech

Anodyne Nanotech, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Biotechnology
Founded	2019 (2019)
Founders	Jake Lombardo Konstantinos Tzortzakis Hojatollah Rezaei Nejad
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts , U.S.
Website	www.theheropatch.com

Anodyne Nanotech, Inc. is an clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It specializes in transdermal delivery of multi-milligram doses of biologics, peptides and monoclonal antibodies, through its proprietary microneedle technology, the Hero Patch™.. The Hero Patch™ technology, originally licensed from Tufts University, enables tunable pharmacokinetic profiles, room-temperature stability, combination therapies and increased patient adherence.

History

Anodyne Nanotech was co-founded in 2019 by Jake Lombardo and Konstantinos Tzortzakis—graduates of Tufts University's Master of Science in Innovation and Management program—along with Dr. Hojatollah Rezaei Nejad, a physicist specialized in micro/nano-scale physics. Dr. Nejad's academic and research background includes roles at Tufts University and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, with a focus on biomedical devices and lab-on-chip drug delivery technologies.

Anodyne’s microneedle technology was licensed from Tufts University. It was originally developed by Dr. Rezaei Nejad and Professor Sameer Sonkusale as part of their work at the Nano Lab within the Advanced Technology Laboratory at Tufts

In its early stages, the startup secured initial funding through university competitions, winning the Ricci Interdisciplinary Prize in 2019 and placing second in the $100,000 New Ventures Competition's Medical Devices and Life Science track.

By 2020, it had raised $275,000 in early investment and was preparing for further funding rounds and animal studies.

In May 2021, Anodyne Nanotech closed a $4.2 million seed financing round, backed by Velocity Partners, Relativity Healthcare Fund and Big Pi Ventures to expand the company's Hero Patch™ platform.

In July 2021, Anodyne Nanotech received funding from the Baker-Polito Administration and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center as part of an $18 million initiative to projects focusing on monoclonal antibody therapies, using Anodyne's macro-porous structured hard microneedle technology.

In 2023, Anodyne Nanotech secured $2.25M in additional funding, with Big Pi Ventures leading the investment round, and appointed Jeff Mihm, former CEO of Noven Pharmaceuticals [1], to its Board of Directors.

In late 2024, preclinical tests showed successful transdermal delivery of GLP-1 receptor agonists, achieving over 50% bioavailability and doses comparable to standard injections, with potential for weekly application and fewer side effects. The company plans to enter clinical trials for this GLP-1 patch in 2025.

As of early 2025, Anodyne had accumulated $9.5 million in total funding and was pursuing additional capital to support development.

In mid-2025, Anodyne reported positive preclinical outcomes for ANN-102, a therapy targeting the APJ receptor to combat sarcopenia by promoting muscle regeneration and strength. This non-invasive approach demonstrated effects similar to daily injections in animal models and is being considered for combination with GLP-1 drugs to address muscle loss associated with weight management treatments.

Technology and products

The company's core innovation, the Hero Patch™, consists of an array of microscopic polymeric microneedles, shorter than one millimeter, that delivers the drug in a solid-state formulation, and later on dissolves in the skin to release medications.

The Hero Patch™ enables the delivery of high-dose biologics, up to 30 milligrams per patch, with customizable pharmacokinetic profiles to optimize therapeutic outcomes and reduce side effects. Its room-temperature stability eliminates the need for refrigeration, enhancing patient compliance, while its design supports co-formulation of multiple drugs for combination therapies within a single patch.