Demcon takes stake in Ligalli’s Medring for incontinence treatment

Medical-systems design expert Demcon has announced its next investment: Ligalli’s Medring. The Medring is a vaginal ring, which provides effective drug delivery and improved diagnostics in the treatment of incontinence. Demcon, which already developed and produced the device on behalf of Ligalli, has now become a shareholder in the company with the goal of intensifying the collaboration and creating a new version capable of delivering other medications and diagnostics.

As many as one in six women endure issues caused by an overactive bladder. Different from other forms of incontinence treatment, usually pills that are known to have a lot of side effects, the Medring system delivers liquid oxybutynin to treat the issue. With the ability to place and remove the ring, as well as the power to regulate doses via a smartphone app, women can go through their day with more control while also experiencing fewer side effects. While other vaginal-ring treatments systems are available, they offer only a continuous delivery of a fixed dose of medicine.

“The human body isn’t only able to absorb medicines, it also continuously sends out a lot of data about its own condition. Our ring is equipped with a temperature sensor that can measure whether the medicine has actually been delivered,” says Ligalli founder and CEO Willem de Laat. “Doctors have a lot of interest in this objective information, because until now, they had to rely on patient confirmation. In the future, we’ll use specific sensors to also measure glucose or hormone levels. In addition to physiological data, we can collect therapeutic data so that drug delivery can be adapted to the measured values. In this way, with the help of the app, the doctor can tailor the treatment to the individual patient.”