Pulmatrix has received a U.S. patent for PUR0200, an inhaled formulation of tiotropium bromide for lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The company said the powder it developed does a better job of delivering tiotropium bromide to the lungs than the standard swallowed version. Pulmatrix describes PUR0202 as a long-lasting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) bronchodilator. A bronchodilator increases air flow to the lungs by decreasing airway resistance to that flow.
Japan patented PUR0200 last year. The U.S. patent will run for 16 years. Pulmatrix received patents relating to PUR0200’s drug-delivery system in the United States in 2015 and in Europe this year.
“This [new U.S.] patent ensures that the product is protected by intellectual property until 2033,” Dr. Robert W. Clarke, chief executive officer of Pulmatrix, said in a press release. “It also is further recognition of the potential medical advances offered by our innovative iSPERSE™ technology for delivering drugs to the lungs more efficiently.”
ISPERSE stands for Inhaled Small Particles Easily Respirable and Emitted. Pulmatrix engineered the particles to be small, dense and easily dispersed as a way of improving inhaled compounds’ delivery to the lungs.
Most bronchodilators are delivered orally. That limits their effectiveness because only a small percentage of the drug actually reaches the lungs.
ISPERSE technology sends PUR0200 directly to the lungs. Clinical trials have shown it to be up to five times more efficient at delivering tiotropium bromide to the lungs than currently available options. That means patients could use a fifth of the inhaled dose to achieve the same results as one oral dose.
The company is developing PUR0200 in the United States and Europe, following regulatory pathways that offer quicker approvals and lower prices.
“This new patent is another step forward to bringing PUR0200 to market — and to be able to offer new benefits to patients suffering from COPD,” Clarke said.
The iSPERSE technology received two U.S. patents in 2015. They covered the composition of the material that disperses the powder and ways the formulation could be used to treat patients with COPD and other lung diseases.
Pulmatrix received a European Union patent for iSPERSE technology in March 2017.