New Generation of Nebulisers for Precision Respiratory Drug Delivery

Acu-Flow is developing a new nebuliser device to enable inhalation for precise and efficient delivery of medicines to the lungs. According to the World Health Organisation, respiratory diseases (e.g. asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders) are the leading causes of death and disability in the world. In the UK, the British Lung Foundation estimates that 1 in every 5 people in the UK will be affected by a lung disorder during their life with annual costs of £9.9bn to the NHS. These disorders are usually treated by the inhalation of aerosols, where the effective delivery of medication is crucially dependent upon the droplet size distribution. Large drops are caught in the upper respiratory tract, while smaller ones are exhaled before they can be adsorbed - neither reach the patient.

Nebulisers are mainly used by very young and old patients, as well as people with poor lung function or in acute exacerbation. They are also becoming important in enabling new drugs for COVID-19 treatment, reshaping the market.

Despite advances in the current state-of-the-art nebuliser technology, there are still two key technical constraints that limit the benefits to patients, namely (i) a limited range of acceptable formulation properties; and (ii) relatively inefficient drug delivery. These limitations result in patients needing specific nebulisers for each drug, with many individuals with chronic diseases requiring at least two devices. This can lead to long delivery times (e.g. people with cystic fibrosis can spend 20min nebulising and 20min cleaning the devices, six times/day), leading to challenges in adherence to treatment. It also restricts the adoption of new drugs and vaccines, which have promising potential in treating difficult diseases.

Acu-Flow will work with Glasgow University and NIHR Devices for Dignity centre to develop essential technologies and designs to enhance the user-adherence and provide useful data to healthcare providers, enhancing the clinical outcome. This platform uses a unique method, based on the interactions between acoustics, microstructured arrays and liquids, to control droplet size in the aerosols generated, within the clinically effective ranges, with a proven ability to enable precise delivery.

The platform has already demonstrated its capability to nebulise a wide range of therapeutics including existing drugs and emerging "high-value" biologics and nanomedicines, which will be critically important in new treatments. This new technology promises broad societal, economic and health impacts for patients, carers, clinicians and the UK economy.