Occoris - Self Activating Smart Inhaler

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The ability to target lung deposition to the diseased airways is influenced by the patient's cognitive ability to handle thedevice correctly, his/her inspiratory profile, and the mechanism of aerosolization of the inhaler. This project focuses on thedevelopment of a novel aerosol generation device called Occoris. Unlike conventional pMDIs, Occoris has no need forpropellants and is recyclable. Similar to DPIs, the aerosol is generated on-demand by the patient. However, because thedrug formulation is pre-packaged in pressurized blisters, the aerosolization is self-activating and is not driven by a forcefulinhalation. When the patient inhales, the blister ruptures, and releases a fine aerosol of drug suitable for deep lunginhalation. Occoris therefore has potential for:1. Coordination of drug delivery with inhalation;2. Minimized throat deposition, compared to pMDIs (even breath-actuated pMDIs);3. Minimized pulmonary function-derived variability of lung deposition between patients;4. Consistency of aerosol dose and properties for high-dose DPI products.In this research programme, we will seek to develop a mechanism to target drug aerosols to diseased regions of the lungthrough controlling patient's inspiratory flow rate and the release rate of aerosol particles during an inhalation cycle. Thisunique achievement for DPI drug delivery derives from the novel aerosolization mechanism of the Occoris blister design.Aerosol generation will be studied using a human inhalation simulator to reproduce inhalation profiles recorded from OLDpatients. Drug formulations will be engineered to achieve high dispersibility in studies supported by the development ofadvanced analytical methods that test for chemical stability and compatibility with Occoris components. Blister packingcomponents will be engineered using air-permeable fibre meshes to support the formulations within aluminium blisters thatare designed to rupture when a patient inhales. The knowledge gained from these studies will be translated into productsthat minimize throat deposition and maximize deep lung targeting of therapeutic aerosols for the treatment of lungdiseases.