LEO Pharma teams up with Wearifi for dermatology research wearable

LEO Pharma is developing a wearable device based on miniature sensors and plans to assess its clinical potential in dermatology drug development. The pharmaceutical company’s Boston-based R&D innovation unit, the LEO Science & Tech Hub, will work on the device with Illinois’ Northwestern University’s Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics and its Wearifi spinout.
Wearifi is developing the world’s smallest, battery-free wearable device, using miniaturized sensors that are small enough to fit on fingernails (pictured above). Its partnerships to date include one with L’Oréal, plus funding from the US Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. Anthony Banks, chief technology officer at Wearifi, said: “Wearifi’s miniature wireless devices allow for imperceptible and unobtrusive placement practically anywhere on the body and are currently used to monitor heart rate, respiration rate, and UV exposure.