PHILADELPHIA & BOSTON – Thomas Jefferson University and Sempresto, Inc. today announced a broad strategic partnership, expanding upon Sempresto’s existing exclusive license from Jefferson for groundbreaking platform technology invented by Edmund Pribitkin, MD, MBA, FACS. Dr. Pribitkin serves as Chief Physician Executive and EVP at Jefferson Health, Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, and chairs Sempresto’s Scientific Advisory Board.
Inspired by his own family’s challenges with managing severe allergies, Dr. Pribitkin designed a smartphone-integrated autoinjector system to address one of the most persistent gaps in emergency care: ensuring that lifesaving medications are always on hand when needed most.
Despite clear evidence that timely administration of epinephrine reduces hospitalizations and saves lives, nearly two-thirds of patients experiencing severe allergic reactions arrive at the Emergency Department without having received epinephrine beforehand. The size, inconvenience, and forgettability of traditional autoinjectors remain major barriers to consistent use.
Sempresto’s solution is a slim, smartphone-mounted epinephrine autoinjector that integrates seamlessly into daily life. By attaching directly to a smartphone case—the one item most people carry everywhere—the device is designed to eliminate the most common barriers to proper utilization and significantly improve a patient’s access to their rescue medicine when they need it.
“Our goal is to ensure that no patient ever finds themselves without access to epinephrine in a moment of need,” said Dr. Pribitkin. “This sleek and convenient design has the potential to redefine emergency preparedness for severe allergy sufferers.”
“Partnering with Jefferson accelerates our pace of innovation and ensures our platform is aligned with the real-world needs of patients, physicians, and payors,” said Elizabeth Reczek, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Sempresto. “Together, we can bring this life-saving technology to market more quickly.”
With a growing intellectual property portfolio and a well-defined regulatory pathway, Sempresto is well positioned to advance its mission of delivering next-generation drug delivery platforms for epinephrine and other rescue medications.