Propeller Health recently announced a partnership with Aptar Pharma to develop the first integrated connected metered dose inhaler (cMDI), containing an integrated sensor and an electronic dose counter which will facilitate drug delivery to patients with respiratory diseases, primarily asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), where the major symptom is difficulty in breathing.
Most respiratory diseases are chronic with no cure. However, several medications are available to relieve the symptoms as well as slow down disease progression. If compared to orally administrated drugs, inhaler devices are more efficient in directly delivering the drugs throughout the lungs for an immediate effect.
Today, the most typical utilized inhaler devices are MDIs, with more than 600 million units produced worldwide. They are used for the delivery of various drugs in aerosolized formats, such as corticosteroids and bronchodilators for daily use by patients with COPD, asthma, and other forms of respiratory diseases.
The Propeller-Aptar partnership aims to bring a substantial improvement to the current MDI model by developing the first digital and connected metered dose inhaler.
This device will contain the basic components of Aptar MDI combined with an integrated digital sensor. This will result in a novel inhaler that is more accurate and reliable for the delivery of precise drug doses to patients.
“Patients and physicians deserve better-designed inhalers that are easier to use and help them successfully treat their chronic respiratory disease,” said David Van Sickle, CEO of Propeller in a press release provided to Lung Disease News. “We are excited to work with Aptar to bring important digital innovation to respiratory drug delivery.
“We expect our connected inhaler to become the cornerstone for a platform of digital programs that will support and encourage better management of and quality of life with chronic respiratory disease. Together, I believe we have the scale and expertise to impact millions of patients with asthma and COPD around the world,” Van Sickle said.
“We are pleased to partner with Propeller to develop the next generation of connected inhalers,” said Salim Haffar, president of Aptar Pharma. “We believe the combination of Aptar’s expertise and technology in inhaler design and development with Propeller’s proven system for asthma and COPD patient management creates a compelling offer to meet the needs of stakeholders in this marketplace.”
The device is compatible with the majority of the controller and reliever medications, along with other systems It is currently ready for licensing and is planned to enter clinical studies later this year.
Propeller Health, founded in 2010, specialized in digital health solutions for respiratory medicine, and Aptar Pharma produces innovative drug delivery systems.