Innovators on a Mission

At Portal Instruments we believe patients deserve better than a 160 year old technology, the needle & syringe. Our mission is to improve the experience for patients on life-changing therapies and redefine what it means to self inject.

We aim to replace all needles and syringes with a safe, fast, and connected device and to become the standard for modern drug delivery.

Redefining what self injection means to patients.

The Challenge of Administering Biologics

Chronic disease self-management at home with biologics can be difficult for patients and may lead to disease management anxiety, poor adherence and less than optimal outcomes. Treatment adherence for biologics is estimated to be 40-to-70% depending upon the indication. [CDC, 2013; FDA 2016]

Further challenges with needle-based injections can include needle anxiety and pain, amplified by the injection duration. A full dose administration (1 mL) for a prefilled syringe and needle or autoinjector can take up to 15 seconds with larger doses requiring the needle to be inserted up to 30 seconds [Expert Opin Drug Deliv 2020].

For patients and family members, needles pose a safety concern. Needlestick injuries may occur during the injection process. Patients want to administer their therapy successfully, however some may refuse a therapy if their only option is a needle-based self-injection.

A Needle-Free Solution


  • Injection durations less than a second
  • Volumes up to 2.0 mL
  • Viscosities up to 400 cP
  • Reusable device
  • Single use needle-free plastic drug cartridge
  • ~General waste
  • Computer-controlled injection profile customized to the drug properties
  • One device for 3 types of injections
  • ~Intradermal
  • ~Subcutaneous
  • ~Intramuscular

About Us

Founded in 2012 out of the MIT BioInstrumentation Laboratory, Portal Instruments’ needle-free injection technology has developed from a large bench top model to a handheld injection system. Today, we are setting ourselves apart from the industry standard by developing a needle-free injector, controlled by software and customized to each medication. Our technology has transitioned from R&D to a platform ready for high volume production and clinical testing.

Passionate about innovation, attuned to patient needs, and focused on the future, all Portal Instruments employees directly contribute to our mission of making a needle-free injector a reality. Today, we are manufacturing products and ready to begin testing.

Our Values

Patient-centricity - Everything we do focuses around improving the patient experience and outcome.

Curiosity - By bringing innovative, creative, and disruptive ideas to the field of drug delivery, we are able to give pharma companies a pathway to improve the experience of taking their life-changing therapies.

Integrity - We work with transparency and hold ourselves to the highest standards of quality, honesty, and intellectual rigor.

Inclusion - It will take a collaborative and diverse team to fulfill our mission.

Our leading team

Portal Instruments has assembled a team of passionate leaders from the medical device industry bringing together their collective experiences of medical device development and commercialization.

Join our team!

Check out the openings we currently have available.