Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/N510087/1
Title:	Occoris - Self Activating Smart Inhaler
Principal Investigator:	Murnane, Professor D
Other Investigators:	Hutter, Dr V
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	School of Life and Medical Sciences
Organisation:	University of Hertfordshire
Scheme:	Technology Programme
Starts:	01 October 2016	Ends:	31 May 2018	Value (£):	138,754
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Drug Formulation & Delivery Macro-molecular delivery Particle Technology
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The global burden of obstructive lung diseases (OLDs) is significant. Almost 300 million individuals worldwide are affected by asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is predicted to be the third-leading cause of death by 2020. Drug containing aerosols are the gold-standard therapy in the treatment of OLDs. Drug delivery to the deep lung remains an unmet challenge using existing products. A key challenge to be addressed is the requirement for delivery of an aerosol that targets the diseased airways and minimizes throat deposition, the most frequent cause of side-effects from inhalation therapy. Existing inhaled therapies have several drawbacks: 1. Nebulizer formulations are suitable for patients with severe OLDs, but they are expensive, difficult to operate, require electricity and are usually non-portable; 2. Pressurized metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) produce aerosols with a size suitable for targeting the diseased airways deep in the lung, but are difficult to use correctly, are only suitable for delivering small doses, and between 30 - 60 % of the drug deposits in the throat; 3. Most dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are passive devices where drug is aerosolized under the force generated when the patient inhales through the device. OLD patients are often unable to inhale with sufficient force to generate an aerosol suitable for deposition in the target affected airways, rather than in the upper airways; 4. It is complex to achieve uniformity of dose content and homogeneous lung dosing when manufacturing DPIs, particularly for high dose drugs such as antibiotics. Advanced formulation and device engineering are required to achieve manufacture of functional DPI products. Effective devices often require energy input such as electromechanical force, or compressed air. The ability to target lung deposition to the diseased airways is influenced by the patient's cognitive ability to handle the device correctly, his/her inspiratory profile, and the mechanism of aerosolization of the inhaler. This project focuses on the development of a novel aerosol generation device called Occoris. Unlike conventional pMDIs, Occoris has no need for propellants and is recyclable. Similar to DPIs, the aerosol is generated on-demand by the patient. However, because the drug formulation is pre-packaged in pressurized blisters, the aerosolization is self-activating and is not driven by a forceful inhalation. When the patient inhales, the blister ruptures, and releases a fine aerosol of drug suitable for deep lung inhalation. Occoris therefore has potential for: 1. Coordination of drug delivery with inhalation; 2. Minimized throat deposition, compared to pMDIs (even breath-actuated pMDIs); 3. Minimized pulmonary function-derived variability of lung deposition between patients; 4. Consistency of aerosol dose and properties for high-dose DPI products. In this research programme, we will seek to develop a mechanism to target drug aerosols to diseased regions of the lung through controlling patient's inspiratory flow rate and the release rate of aerosol particles during an inhalation cycle. This unique achievement for DPI drug delivery derives from the novel aerosolization mechanism of the Occoris blister design. Aerosol generation will be studied using a human inhalation simulator to reproduce inhalation profiles recorded from OLD patients. Drug formulations will be engineered to achieve high dispersibility in studies supported by the development of advanced analytical methods that test for chemical stability and compatibility with Occoris components. Blister packing components will be engineered using air-permeable fibre meshes to support the formulations within aluminium blisters that are designed to rupture when a patient inhales. The knowledge gained from these studies will be translated into products that minimize throat deposition and maximize deep lung targeting of therapeutic aerosols for the treatment of lung diseases.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.herts.ac.uk