Breath test

Asthmatics and those with other pulmonary disorders could soon benefit from a new generation of inhalers that instead of using a liquid aerosol spray, deliver the active ingredients as a fine powder.

A new version of the dry powder inhaler concept, developed by Italian pharmaceutical company Chiesi Farmaceutici and UK design firm Cambridge Consultants, has made its debut at a major pharmaceuticals conference in the US.

Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) were first developed during the 1990s, partly due to the need to replace conventional aerosol inhalers because of the phase-out of ozone-depleting propellants. However, they have other advantages — they tend to be easier to use than aerosol inhalers, because the dose is triggered by the patient breathing in rather than having to co-ordinate taking a deep breath with pressing down the aerosol canister.

There are several types of inhaler, some of which store individual doses of medicine, others keeping a 'reservoir' of the drug formulation which is measured out inside the device. The Chiesi/ Cambridge Consultants' NEXT DPI is a bulk reservoir inhaler, storing up to 120 doses of its respiratory agent, which is intended to be used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), ranked as the fourth largest cause of death worldwide by the World Health Organisation. The two companies presented it to the Respiratory Drug Delivery Conference in Florida last month.