MicroTex
The EPSRC Research and Partnership Hub in Microscale Science and Technology to Accelerate Therapeutic Innovation.
A research hub developing microscale medical devices to improve how new therapies are designed, tested, and translated into healthcare.
What we aim to do:
To pioneer a patient-centred revolution in drug discovery by developing micro- and nanoscale science and technology platforms to transform therapy advancement for microdosing through localised precision delivery and sensing, starting with the lungs and cornea.
Phase 0 Intra-Target Microdosing
Phase 0 Intra-Target Microdosing is an emerging approach with the potential to improve how new therapies are evaluated during early development. However, significant technological challenges still limit its wider application.
MicroTex is developing the microscale medical devices and technologies needed to help make Phase 0 Intra-Target Microdosing a practical and reproducible approach for therapeutic research. By enabling more precise delivery, monitoring, and evaluation of therapies, we aim to support safer, faster, and more efficient therapeutic development.
Microscale Systems
Developing microscale devices to model and study biological systems.
Therapeutic Development
Improving how therapies are delivered, tested, and evaluated for safety and effectiveness earlier in development
Precision Biosensing
Measuring and understanding how drugs interact with human biology at high precision to support more personalised and predictive approaches.
The Challenge
As scientific understanding and AI advances, developing new medicines becomes increasingly complex, particularly as treatments are tailored to individual patients. Failure remains an inherent part of this process, with a low probability of success.
Our Vision
Our vision is to accelerate the development of more effective therapies to improve global health outcomes.
Our Mission
Our mission is to transform outdated drug development systems through microscale innovation, enabling safer, faster, and more accessible therapeutic development worldwide.
A Collaborative Research Hub
Why Does Therapeutic Innovation Require Collaboration?
Developing new therapies requires expertise across multiple disciplines. By bringing together engineers, physicists, chemist, and clinicians across partner universities, MicroTex supports collaborative approaches to addressing global health and therapeutic challenges.
Robotics
Chemistry
Engineering
Research Platforms
A key focus is infection and inflammation, where current approaches often struggle to predict or control therapeutic outcomes. To address this, MicroTex is developing two research platforms focused on the lung and the eye, two clinically important and challenging biological systems.
Lung Platform
Focuses on respiratory disease, inflammation, infection, and challenges in accessing and treating the lung.
Eye Platform
Focuses on ocular disease, barriers to drug delivery, and challenges in treating the cornea
The Impact of MicroTex
The research in MicroTex aims to improve how therapies are developed, making the process more efficient, faster, and more patient-centred for conditions of global importance.