Pulmatrix Releases Video on Inhaler System Designed to Better Treat Lung Disease

Pulmatrix released an animated life sciences video detailing the workings of iSPERSE, the company’s new dry powder inhaler system for lung disease patients, and raising awareness about lung disorders like pulmonary fibrosis.

“Millions of people struggle to breathe every day because of such diseases as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF),” Robert Clarke, Pulmatrix’s chief executive officer, said in a company press release. “For them, the struggle for breath is a struggle for life.”

The video describes how the engineered dry powder system helps respiratory drugs to reach the lungs easier and more effectively than the existing inhalers, largely due to the aerodynamic properties of its powder particles.

Most inhaled drugs currently available to treat lung diseases get stuck in the throat and never reach the lungs, both limiting their therapeutic benefit, and causing side effects, the company said in the video.

The iSPERSE (inhaled small particles easily respirable and emitted) system, it said, offers several advantages. Most important, the shape and size of Pulmatrix’s particles carry a drug deep into the lungs, so only a small amount are deposited in the throat. iSPERSE is also designed to work effectively even patients with difficulties in breathing, sot that the right dosage is carried by these particles reliability into the lungs.

According to the company, the iSPERSE system also offers versatility, as the particles could carry virtually any drug. The company is also developing iSPERSE treatments for several lung diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis.

Pulmatrix’s drug pipeline includes a product candidate called PUR0200, which acts as a bronchodilator and is designed to help COPD patients. A second candidate, called PUR1500, is an iSPERSE formulation incorporating a kinase inhibitor to treat IPF. The company is also working PUR1900, an iSPERSE formulation incorporating a large anti-fungal compound that could one day be the first inhaled anti-fungal drug.

“Better drug delivery means better patient outcomes,” Dr. Clarke said. “Our inhaled therapies should help patients breathe easier and improve their quality of life.”