10116647Novel EBT patch for better CVD managementClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKThe British Heart Foundation estimates that over half of people in the UK will suffer from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in their lifetimes. However, medication adherence is a key issue, with almost 31% of patients no longer adherent to their medications 6 months post-heart attack (Chen et. al., 2022). Improving medication adherence is key to reducing the strain on the NHS, as healthcare costs relating to heart and circulatory diseases are estimated at £10 billion each year (British Heart Foundation, 2024). To address this, user-friendly drug delivery methods must be developed. While there have been some patches developed for CVD such as Bisono Tape (for hypertension/atrial fibrillation), Catapres-TTS (for hypertension) and Minitran/Nitro-dur (for angina), these suffer from various limitations, including short product-use lifetimes and irritation issues. They also lack the ability to monitor variations in skin absorption between patients. Elixi, a spin-out of Imperial College London, aims to address this by developing a smart patch for the transdermal administration of CVD medications. Our smart patch will tackle two of the barriers to medication adherence that are classified by the World Health Organisation: therapy-related barriers (e.g. complexity of drug regimen, route of administration) and patient-related factors (e.g. forgetfulness, preferences). With a more patient-centric approach to CVD treatment, we can improve medication adherence and ultimately improve the quality of life for CVD patients, while also reducing the strain on the NHS.