Microneedle arrays with undercut features for cutaneous and non-cutaneous drug delivery

A method of forming a microneedle array comprise:

• forming a production mold of a flexible material, the production mold comprising a plurality of cavities that are shaped to define a plurality of respective microneedles that each have a stem, a microneedle tip, a filleted base, and at least one undercut feature,
• incorporating at least one bioactive material into a first dissolvable material to provide a biodegradable matrix,
• delivering the biodegradable matrix into at least the microneedle-tip portion defined by the respective cavities of the production mold;
• forming a plurality of microneedles in the production mold that include the biodegradable matrix;
• and
• removing the microneedles from the production mold by pulling the microneedles out of the mold,
• wherein the flexible material has sufficient elasticity to allow for the molded microneedle array to be removed from the production mold in a single pull without damaging the integrity of the shape of the microneedles as defined by the mold.