Revolutionary inhaler from Cambridge hits the market

The engine will be available for pharmaceutical companies to start using in Phase 1 clinical trials from Q4 of this year.

Quattrii has been designed to transform the delivery of drugs for conditions that affect the lungs and airways – including lung cancer therapies – as well as systemic conditions where delivery to the lung is more advantageous, like pain management or Parkinson’s.

Quattrii delivers at least 70 per cent of the drug to lung with each inhalation, while existing inhalers typically only deliver between 10 per cent and 50 per cent of the drug directly to the lung.

Quattrii’s ability to retain inert lactose means that a patient can inhale their whole active dose in one go. Alternatively, with a traditional inhaler, a high dose would need to be split across multiple inhalations, which each time results in large deposits in the mouth and throat.

As an example, Quattrii can be used to deliver novel therapies for the treatment of lung cancer. CHI’s DPI engine would enable patients who are eligible to inhale their treatment directly to the lungs.

The benefit of this inhalation technology – in place of traditional intravenous chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy – is the reduced amount the patient must receive to get the required therapeutic effect, and the avoidance of typical side effects such as hair loss and nausea. This also means patients can receive their dose within a few seconds rather than over several hours.

CEO and Founder David Harris, says: “Respirable drugs offer so much potential, but for too long the lack of innovation in inhaler technology has been a hugely limiting factor. They are either not capable of offering sufficient moisture protection, or of delivering the amount of drug a patient needs in one go, regardless of the vast range of lung and inhalation capacities.

“There is a better way – and by creating an inhaler from the ground up, that is designed to make the best use of the patient’s inhalation energy, we have been able to achieve something that is easier to use and provides much greater efficiency.”