Cambridge Healthcare Innovations and Illinois partner advance inhaler technology

08 Nov, 2024
Newsdesk
Cambridge Healthcare Innovations (CHI) has joined forces with Aptar Pharma in the US to commercialise the Cambridge Science Park company’s Quattrii Dry Powder Inhaler platform.
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From left: Neil Cooper, Heather Jameson, David Harris, Mike Oakes, Warren Isaacs. Images courtesy – Cambridge Healthcare Innovations (CHI)

The partners aim to take the technology to market as a matter of priority and support pharmaceutical companies who need an inhaler capable of delivering carrier-based or API-only low-potency formulations of between 50 and 150 mg fill mass.

For carrier-based formulations, the blister-based Quattrii engine can classify and retain nearly all of the lactose carrier within the blister, while delivering a high percentage of the API to the deep lung.

By only delivering the fraction of the formulation that is beneficial to the patient, this allows significantly larger doses to be delivered in a single inhalation manoeuvre while avoiding cough.

This is in contrast to a capsule-based inhaler, which evacuates the entire contents of the carrier fraction, predominantly into the patient's mouth and throat. As such, the same dose would need to be split into multiple inhalations to avoid cough, CHI says.

Alternatively, Quattrii can also be configured for API-only formulations, enabling it to evacuate the entire blister and deliver a high fine particle dose.

Aptar Pharma will provide comprehensive support to CHI, serving as the primary point of contact for customers, preparing for commercial manufacture and integrating Aptar’s comprehensive suite of pharmaceutical services to accelerate the growth of the Quattrii DPI platform.

Howard Burnett, Vice President, Global Pulmonary Category, Aptar Pharma, said: “The CHI team brings deep knowledge, experience and innovation to the dry powder inhaler landscape.

“Aptar Pharma is very pleased to offer the Quattrii technology in partnership with CHI’s expertise. This enables us to be able to provide full support from our portfolio of services to all drug developers, from formulation development to patient onboarding.”

David Harris, co-founder & CEO of CHI, added: “We are really excited to be partnering with Aptar Pharma to bring our Quattrii DPI platform to market. Through this relationship, Aptar’s pharmaceutical customers will now have access to a next-generation DPI platform capable of delivering high doses of low-potency molecules. This will open up a wide range of opportunities for improved patient outcomes across many new and existing conditions.”

Aptar Pharma is part of AptarGroup, Inc., a global leader in the design and manufacturing of a broad range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing and active material science solutions.

Its solutions and services serve a variety of end markets including pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home, food and beverage. Aptar is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois and has 13,000 dedicated employees in 20 countries.