ArrayPatch Secures €1.6 Million First Close to Advance Microneedle Nail Fungus Treatment

New updates have been reported about ArrayPatch Ltd.

ArrayPatch Ltd has completed the first close of a €3 million seed round, raising €1.6 million to accelerate clinical development of its lead microneedle-based therapy ITZ-DerMap for onychomycosis. The round is led by Lakeside Capital, with participation from Enterprise Ireland, The Boole Investment Syndicate and DeepIE Ventures, and includes the conversion of €0.3 million of existing convertible loan notes and accrued interest into equity.

As part of the financing, Lakeside Capital director Sean Corkery will join ArrayPatch’s board, adding investor oversight as the company advances its proprietary DerMap platform toward clinical proof-of-concept. The DerMap technology uses polymer-free dissolving microneedles made entirely from the active drug, designed to deliver painless, targeted dosing to affected tissue, with CEO and co-founder Dr. Waleed Faisal positioning ITZ-DerMap as a potential step-change in nail fungus care and a gateway to broader indications such as skin cancer, diabetes, weight loss and migraine.

The new capital provides ArrayPatch with runway to move from preclinical work into early human studies, sharpen its regulatory strategy and strengthen its data package for future Series A discussions. Management and investors highlight the scale of global markets for targeted drug delivery and dermatology-related therapeutics, framing ArrayPatch’s approach as a potential commercial platform rather than a single-asset play. The company, a University College Cork spin-out, has already attracted significant non-dilutive support and industry recognition, including wins at the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition 2025, IDEATE Ireland 2023 and the Irish Pharma Awards 2022, which collectively enhance its credibility with prospective partners and follow-on investors.

Looking ahead, the key milestones for executives and stakeholders to monitor will be initiation and progression of clinical studies for ITZ-DerMap, validation of the DerMap platform across additional indications, and the company’s ability to leverage its strengthened board and investor base to secure subsequent funding rounds. If early clinical data confirm the preclinical promise of polymer-free microneedle patches, ArrayPatch could be well positioned to negotiate strategic collaborations in dermatology and metabolic disease, support premium pricing for differentiated delivery, and potentially license its platform to larger pharmaceutical players. These developments, together with the current seed financing structure and board expansion, mark a pivotal inflection point in ArrayPatch’s transition from research-focused start-up to clinically driven biotech platform company.