Pirouette Pharma

A debilitating fear of needles prevents many people from getting life-saving medications.

But what if you could get an injection without even seeing a needle? Furthermore, what if it were as easy as pushing a button? Pirouette Medical makes it possible.

It’s created an affordable, easy-to-use medical device that enables users to get injections without ever seeing a needle. The device is about the size of a bottle cap. Inside is a tiny needle hidden along with a precise dose of medication. Patients simply stick the device onto their arm or leg and push a button. That’s it.

(Note: We introduced this startup to members of our Private Market Profits premium-research service in 2024 when it was raising funds at a fifty-five-million-dollar valuation. Now it’s raising funds at a ninety-million-dollar valuation, meaning those who invested then have nearly doubled their money on paper.)

Injector design hasn’t seen much innovation over the past fifty years. Most devices rely on bulky, plastic-wrapped syringes or outdated auto-injectors that expose the needle, require high force, and weren’t designed with patients in mind.

In a study with 370 patients attempting simulated injectors, thirty percent administered the injection incorrectly. Nearly fifteen percent wouldn’t attempt an injection at all. Needle fear affects more than half of patients, causing hesitation and poor adherence.

Pirouette’s injection system is called QuicPush.

To activate it, you simply twist the device and place it on your body. A medical-grade adhesive allows the device to easily stick to your arm, your leg, even your clothing. All instructions are on top of the device, and an oversized cap and ridge provides a natural gripping surface.

Once it’s adhered to you, you push a button on it. You’ll hear a “click,” at which point the medication will be administered — you won’t ever see the needle. It takes about two seconds.

Once removed, the device automatically shifts to a locked-out state where the needle is fully retracted. The device then notifies users that the medication was successfully delivered, and displays a bright red “Used” alert.

QuicPush was designed to meet the FDA’s reliability requirements for emergency-use devices. Among these requirements are a 99.99% essential performance standard and a 99.99% successful activation rate.

As the former President of $200 billion medical-device giant Abbott Laboratories (ABT) noted: “QuicPush… will offer dependable performance every time.”

It’s the world’s only intramuscular (i.e., administered into the muscle) injector with a two-inch diameter stable base. And if it looks different than any other injection system you’ve seen before, that’s by design.

To start, Pirouette’s QuicPush system will be used to administer epinephrine and naloxone. Epinephrine, sometimes referred to as adrenaline, is a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in your body’s “fight-or-flight” response. It’s also used as a medication to treat many lifethreatening conditions, including severe allergic reactions.

Fifty million Americans are at risk of life-threatening allergic reactions. And close to two million epinephrine prescriptions are issued in the U.S. each year.

Many people who take epinephrine use a popular auto-injection system known as the EpiPen. The U.S. market for this device alone was valued at about $750 million in 2021.

The problem is that EpiPens are expensive, and getting more expensive. As reported in a Vox article from 2023, between 2007 and 2016, the cost of a two-pack of EpiPens jumped six-fold, from $100 to $600.

Pirouette also aims to target the $150 billion market for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic.

Pirouette has raised millions from venture investors including Y Combinator, Safar Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Gangels.

The company has more than $800 million worth of licensing-deal potential with four medications. It’s targeting FDA approval for these medications in 2027, 2028, and 2029. Pirouette has been granted twenty-three patents and aims to commercialize its device worldwide by 2027.

Team Background

Conor Cullinane - President & CEO

Conor is a former rocket scientist with extensive experience in the healthcare sector.

Prior to starting Pirouette, he worked for NASA, serving as a space-technology research fellow. Before that, he was a Ph.D. candidate with the Harvard-MIT Program, which combines MIT and Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals to solve health-related problems. During this time, he was also an associate editor with the Encyclopedia of Bioastronautics.

Earlier in his career, Conor was a flight engineer with the Commemorative Air Force, the largest flying museum in the world and a non-profit dedicated to honoring American military aviation. Before that, he was a radiation oncology research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital.

He began his career co-founding roCKeT Division, an aerospace startup. And he also spent time as a research assistant with Clarkson University, focusing on a feedback system to help amputees control prosthetic limbs.

Conor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Clarkson University, a Ph.D. in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics from MIT, and he studied Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Eli Kapas - Chief Technology Officer

Eli has experience with FDA regulation and intellectual-property strategy.

He began his career as a manufacturing engineer with General Electric, then became a field engineer with Bechtel, a multi-billion-dollar oil and gas company.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University.

Matthew Kane - Chief Operating Officer

Prior to Pirouette, Matthew was a test engineer at Notre Dame’s Turbomachinery Laboratory.

Before that, he co-founded roCKeT Division, the aerospace startup co-founded by Conor Cullinane.

Matthew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University and a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Co-Investors

Safar Partners

A venture fund investing in technology companies sprung from MIT and Harvard.

Y Combinator

Seed-stage accelerator whose alumni include Scribd, Reddit, Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe

Gaingels

Investing in companies led by LGBT founders and executives. Portfolio includes Excision (biotech company), Breaking Fourth (virtual reality company) and Chicory (a grocery advertising company).

Liquid 2 Ventures

A seed-stage investment fund based in San Francisco, California.