In April 2010, Oriel Therapeutics was acquired by Novartis AG Sandoz division. The closely held small firm had successfully raised substatial VC and had been working on respiratory drug's delivery and had developed an innovative pre-metered unit and multi-dose dry powder delivery systems for medicines for asthma and COPD. Anchored in a breakthrough aerosolization technology that enabled the development of innovative dry powder inhalation delivery devices, Oriel had licensed its initial patented technology related to the use of powder specific fluidization signals, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by Oriel's founders. The firm's own intellectual property -- central to its DPI (dry powder inhaler) platforms - enabled use of the same fundamental principles of powder fluidization to address the precise movement of poorly flowing powders for potential industrial applications.
