Gastrodyne is developing a swallowable, biodegradable smart capsule that autonomously navigates the GI tract and delivers therapy exactly at the site of disease — no needles, no infusion visits.
Current therapies force a brutal trade-off: systemic drugs cause widespread side effects, while targeted procedures are invasive, expensive, and poorly tolerated long-term.
Oral biologics and steroids flood the entire body to treat a localized lesion. Patients endure immunosuppression, infections, and long-term organ damage for treatment that may not even reach the target site.
Endoscopic injections require sedation, specialist scheduling, and recovery time. For Crohn's patients needing ongoing therapy, repeated invasive procedures destroy compliance and quality of life.
Diagnostic capsules like PillCam image but cannot treat. Enemas cannot reach Crohn's small-bowel disease. A persistent therapeutic gap exists for millions of North American IBD patients.
Gastrodyne's platform combines dual-trigger localization, on-board imaging, and biodegradable drug delivery in a single swallowable device the size of a vitamin.
pH sensing combined with microbiome enzyme layers provides fail-safe regional accuracy — no external hardware or operator input required.
AMS NanEye camera with FPGA pipeline and CNN-based tissue classification. Prototype validated at 75% diagnostic accuracy on the CROHN-IPI dataset.
Microneedle-based actuation delivers payload directly into GI tissue. Initial targets: budesonide and mesalamine for localized IBD inflammation.
Timed self-dissolution eliminates capsule retention risk — a key physician concern addressed by design, not regulatory workaround.
A walkthrough of Gastrodyne's capsule platform — from swallowing to targeted drug delivery at the site of disease.
The gastrointestinal drug delivery market is growing at 6.4% CAGR, driven by rising IBD prevalence and demand for targeted therapies. Gastrodyne is positioned at the intersection of three expanding segments.
Projected $20.8B by 2025 at 6.4% CAGR
Source: Grand View Research
~2M patients in North America · ~320k in Canada
Source: CDC, Crohn's & Colitis Canada
Target 5% of SAM via 30–50 pilot centres
~10–15k patients annually by Year 5
A cross-disciplinary team spanning biomedical engineering, pharmaceutical science, AI, and clinical gastroenterology — affiliated with Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Toronto.
Leads end-to-end product development and system integration. Drives regulatory strategy, IP filing, and cross-functional collaboration from prototype to clinical translation.
Develops AI models for sensor data interpretation and autonomous localization. Designed and validated the FPGA imaging pipeline integrated in the working prototype.
Guides drug formulation strategy and preclinical documentation. Provides scientific oversight across regulatory submissions and clinical trial design.
Provides clinical and procedural insight to guide device validation. Supports clinical translation strategy and early feasibility study design at partner GI centres.
We are actively seeking early feasibility study partners, grant collaborators, and seed-stage investors who share our vision for precision GI medicine.