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UCC spin-out awarded €50K by InterTradeIreland to scale microneedle technology
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ArrayPatch, a spin-out company from University College Cork’s (UCC) School of Pharmacy has been announced as a Regional Winner in the InterTradeIreland All-Island Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition 2025.
The win secures ArrayPatch a €50,000 prize and advances the company, which spun-out from UCC in June 2024, to the all-island final, which will take place on November 13th in Dublin. The competition is Ireland’s premier investor-readiness programme designed to help startups refine their business plans and secure investment.
ArrayPatch provides healthcare professionals with a superior treatment option, ultimately improving patient outcomes. ArrayPatch’s proprietary microneedle platform, called DerMap, enables drug delivery through the skin without injections, offering a novel solution for both pharmaceutical partners and patients. The company continues to build traction with a growing portfolio of innovations and partnerships in Europe, USA and Asia.
The technology has already received several awards, including Innovation of the Year at the Pharma Industry Awards 2022, winner of the 2023 IDEATE Ireland competition, and finalist at Big Ideas 2024.
“This recognition is a major milestone for our team,” said Dr Waleed Faisal, CEO of ArrayPatch. “It validates the potential of our microneedle technology to transform how medicines are delivered - safely, painlessly, and effectively. We’re deeply grateful to InterTradeIreland and to all who have supported our journey so far.”
Prof John Cryan, Vice President for Research and Innovation at UCC said: “ArrayPatch and its unique dissolvable microneedle technology will serve as a game-changer in the treatment of nail fungal infections. It is fantastic to see such an impactful technology deriving from UCC’s world-class research gain this recognition from IntertradeIreland, and we look forward to the all-island final in November.”
Dr Sally Cudmore, Director of UCC Innovation added: “Congratulations to Waleed and the ArrayPatch team on being named regional winner of the InterTradeIreland All-Island Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition 2025. The award is testament to the impact that Arraypatch and their microneedle platorm technology are having and will continue to have on the healthcare industry globally. We wish them the best of luck at the national final next month.”
The InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Competition is one of the island’s most competitive startup programmes, designed to bridge the gap between early innovation and investor readiness.