As the development of high-dose biologic therapies accelerates across the biopharmaceutical industry, innovative drug-delivery systems designed to maximize patient convenience are taking center stage. Transitioning complex treatments from lengthy intravenous (IV) hospital infusions to rapid subcutaneous (SC) injections drastically reduces the clinical burden on both patients and healthcare providers.
South Korean biotech firm Alteogen announced on May 26 that a collaborative preclinical study with global medical device giant Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) has successfully demonstrated the potential of its technology to shorten administration times and accelerate drug absorption for high-volume subcutaneous injections.
The findings were unveiled at the PDA Miniverse 2026 conference, an international summit for advanced injectables, drug-delivery systems, and combination products held in Dublin, Ireland, from May 21 to 22. Alteogen CEO Jeon Tae-yeon personally attended the event to present the promising outcomes of the joint research initiative.
The study evaluated drug-delivery efficiency by pairing Alteogen’s proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase, ALT-B4, with BD’s advanced wearable drug-delivery device, the 10mL BD Libertas™ Wearable Injector. Researchers focused on critical endpoints, including required subcutaneous injection times, delivery speeds, and the precise dispersion patterns of high-volume therapeutics within subcutaneous tissues.
In a preclinical animal model, administering a large 10mL volume mixed with ALT-B4 into the abdominal area significantly optimized both infusion time and injection speed compared to control formulations lacking the enzyme. High-resolution ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) imaging further confirmed that ALT-B4 facilitated rapid, uniform dispersion of the therapeutic throughout the subcutaneous matrix.
Additionally, the study noted significant improvements in local tolerability. In subjects treated with the ALT-B4 combination, localized swelling at the injection site resolved remarkably faster than in the control group. These data points suggest the strategy could substantially minimize physical discomfort and operational friction during the administration of next-generation, high-volume biologics.
ALT-B4 functions by temporarily cleaving hyaluronic acid—a primary structural component of the extracellular matrix in subcutaneous tissue—thereby clearing a transient pathway for rapid macromolecular diffusion and systemic absorption. Because of this unique mechanism, the platform has emerged as a premier industry solution for converting conventional IV-administered blockbusters into patient-friendly, rapid subcutaneous formulations.
CEO Jeon emphasized that the preclinical data reconfirmed the strong market competitiveness of the ALT-B4 platform. He noted that as the global pipeline expands for complex, high-dose therapeutics like monoclonal antibodies and bispecific antibodies, ALT-B4 is uniquely positioned to serve as an indispensable cornerstone for large-volume subcutaneous drug delivery.
This year's PDA Miniverse conference underscored patient-centric care and high-volume delivery platforms as the defining paradigms of modern biopharma combination product engineering, setting a clear trajectory for the future of commercial therapeutics.e results suggest the approach could help reduce patient discomfort and burden when administering high-volume biologics via subcutaneous injection.
ALT-B4 is a recombinant hyaluronidase that temporarily breaks down hyaluronic acid in subcutaneous tissue to aid drug diffusion and absorption. Hyaluronic acid helps maintain structure in the skin and subcutaneous tissue; temporarily loosening it can allow a drug to spread more effectively through the tissue. Because of these properties, the technology is drawing attention as a way to convert biologics previously administered intravenously into subcutaneous formulations, or to deliver high-volume drugs in a shorter time.
Jeon said the BD preclinical results underscored the competitiveness of ALT-B4 as a drug-delivery technology. He added that as development expands for high-dose biologics such as monoclonal antibodies and bispecific antibodies, ALT-B4 could serve as a core drug-delivery solution for enabling high-volume subcutaneous injections.
PDA Miniverse is an international conference attended by global companies in injectables, drug-delivery systems and combination products. This year’s event focused on high-volume drug delivery and patient-centered treatment technologies as key agenda items.
