#95 The Future of Acne Treatment: At Home Injections, Teledermatology and Building ClearPen with Rick Bente

Rick Bente, co-founder and CEO of Indomo, the company behind ClearPen, an investigational at home corticosteroid injection for inflammatory acne. Rick brings over two decades of experience in drug delivery and diagnostics with previous roles at Medtronic, Insulet and YourBio.In this episode we trace Rick’s journey from insulin pumps, large volume wearable injectors and remote blood collection to tackling one of the most common yet under-served conditions in medicine: acne. Rick explains why dermatology has seen far less innovation than fields like diabetes, why 40 percent of acne sufferers in the US live with deep inflammatory lesions that topicals simply cannot reach and how ClearPen aims to replicate in-clinic injections safely in the home.We dig into how dermatologists and GPs perceive acne severity, the mental health burden of adult acne and why telehealth has become a critical tool when wait times to see a dermatologist can exceed three months. Rick also unpacks the technical and regulatory complexity of combination products, from tying drug and device design histories together to generating RCT-grade evidence that satisfies regulators, payers and prescribing physicians.Finally, we talk about the realities of building a direct-to-patient model in a regulated market, balancing unmet patient need with the gatekeeping role of clinicians and insurers, and Rick’s own transition from corporate engineer to founder. He shares candid lessons on focusing beyond the patient to the full healthcare ecosystem, designing devices that are “hard to misuse” and why turning ideas into reality ultimately requires taking the leap.Timestamps[00:00:21] From insulin pumps and wearables to dermatology and ClearPen[00:02:27] Why acne and dermatology have been under-innovated compared to other MedTech fields[00:05:25] Acne beyond teenagers: genetics, adult breakouts and mental health impact[00:07:16] How dermatologists versus GPs understand acne severity and burden[00:09:27] Typical US acne care pathway and why Accutane was the last big breakthrough[00:11:54] Using telehealth to address three-month dermatologist wait times[00:15:16] Investigational at-home corticosteroid injections and designing for safe use[00:17:21] Biggest technical and regulatory challenges in drug-device combination products[00:19:59] Where founders go wrong with direct-to-patient models in healthcare[00:24:13] Moving from engineer to founder and building around value inflexion pointsConnect with Rick - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-bente/Learn more about Indomo - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/indomotx/Get in touch with Karandeep Badwal - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Karandeep on YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@KarandeepBadwal⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the Podcast