Pulmatrix Scientist Describes Advances in Inhaled Drug Delivery

In an interview with CEOLIVE.TV, Dr. David Hava explains how Pulmatrix, Inc. has developed an innovative drug delivery technology that has attracted the attention of potential partners, like Mylan, and which promises improve the lives of patients

ORLANDO, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 15, 2016 / CEOLIVE.TV, an online service that delivers news about companies to investors, today highlighted advances in inhaled drug delivery in an interview with David Hava, PhD, chief scientific officer of Pulmatrix, Inc., (NASDAQ: PULM), based in Lexington, MA.

Speaking with CEOLIVE.TV’s Mike Elliott, Dr. Hava described how Pulmatrix has engineered dry particles to ‘fly’ better in the air, enabling the particles to more efficiently deliver drugs to patients’ lungs.

Pulmatrix was able to demonstrate the advances offered by its technology, called iSPERSE(TM), in a clinical trial in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2014. Not only did Pulmatrix’s drug candidate bring equivalent improvements in lung function as compared to the current treatment, “what was exciting to us – and eventually to potential partners – was that we could do that by exposing patients to significantly less drug – 80% less drug,” explained Dr. Hava.

That means that iSPERSE technology has the potential to both reduce side effects and to deliver much higher doses compared current approaches. In addition, the drugs are delivered at the right dose even when patients struggle to breathe. “When they inhale our powder, they are getting the same dose of drug reproducibly every time,” Dr. Hava said.

When Pulmatrix looked for partners to develop its drug candidate for COPD, named PUR0200, pharmaceutical giant Mylan quickly realized those advantages and became a collaborator. By leveraging an efficient regulatory pathway for inhaled drugs that exists only in the European Union, Pulmatrix and Mylan now are working to achieve an expedited approval of a branded generic version of a current leading product for COPD in Europe. Pulmatrix will later seek approval in the U.S. The potential market is billions of dollars per year, with tens of millions of patients benefiting, Dr. Hava said.

Moreover, “PUR0200 is only the beginning,” said Dr. Hava. Already in the pipeline are drugs to tackle major unmet medical needs by fighting fungal infections in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis and other diseases, and by treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Dr. Hava expects more to follow. Because of the power of the iSPERSE approach to efficiently deliver many different types of drugs, “we are looking for ways to advance other important products to address significant additional unmet medical needs,” he said.

Contact CEOLIVE.TV:

Mike Elliott

newsdesk@ceolive.tv

SOURCE: CEOLIVE.TV

ReleaseID: 443757