10x Advisor Laurence Hayward was invited to speak at the 2^nd Annual Microneedle Drug Delivery Conference held in Cork, Ireland from May 12-15, 2012.  The Conference aims to explore the use of Microneedles, typically in the form of a patch, for the effective delivery of a range of drugs.  The potential advantages of this delivery technique is it avoids the pain associated with hypodermic needles, provides a convenient and easy-to-use format including extended dosing periods, has a form factor that is more efficient to distribute, use and dispose of (avoiding reuse issues) and potentially can be manufactured for less cost relative to conventional needles.  Hayward’s presentation specifically addressed how to make microneedle technology scalable using efficient, high volume manufacturing techniques.  More on the Conference can be found at www.microneedles.ie.  A copy of the presentation is also available upon request to lkh@theventurelab.com.