We are dedicated to the development of more precise and efficient puhnonary drug delivery systems for the delivery of local (lung) and systemic therapeutics. Existing aerosol delivery systems are inaccurate and reproducible dosing is difficult to achieve, particularly for small children and infants. This leads to poor management of asthma and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDS) in many patients. We are developing a new aerosol device to improve the accuracy and efficiency of dosing, and to reduce the time required to administer nebulized drugs to all patients, including small children and infants. The aerosol device was originally conceived for the accurate delivery of polypeptide therapeutics for other indications. This research effort is designed to apply the technology for better asthma treatment, particularly for children. The objective is to optimize the performance characteristics of the device in Phase I so that the best embodiment can be put forth for a pre-production prototype, clinical trials, and FDA approval in Phase II.Awardee's statement of the potential commercial applications of the research:The device will be sold to over 2 million U. S. asthma and COPD patients whose disease is not well managed by drugs delivered with Metered Dose Inhalers (MDI). It will also be sold to AIDS patients for the delivery of pentamidine. It will enable the development of aerosol biotherapeutics including hormones.National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
