Crystal Lake, Illinois-based Aptar Pharma ($ATR) launched technology designed to monitor dosing and adherence in its inhalers. It also teamed up with Adapt Pharma to provide a nasal spray device to reverse opioid overdose, also using metered dosing technology.
As presented at the Respiratory Drug Delivery conference in Phoenix, Arizona, Aptar’s eDose Counter tracks the amount of spray being released from the inhaler as well as the number of doses. Patient adherence is an important factor and the reason why many asthma and COPD patients continue to show respiratory effects of the conditions.
The inhaler comes on the heels of the company's partnership Propeller Health, which is constructing an inhaler that not only counts doses but deploys apps, text messages and emails to inform patients of their medication use. This "smart inhaler" puts both Propeller and Aptar in a race with Qualcomm ($QCOM) and Novartis ($NVS) to develop the first integrated version.
For now, Aptar's metered dose inhaler is a logical first step into the niche.
“Lack of patient adherence in asthma and COPD has been identified as a major issue for a number of years,” an Aptar spokesperson told in-Pharmatechnologist. “Enhanced patient adherence with the dose regimen is key to improve the healthcare outcomes while lowering healthcare costs.”
In addition to the inhaler dose counter, Aptar also provided Adapt Pharma with technology to perform a similar function in Adapt’s opioid overdose nasal spray Narcan. The naloxone device is designed as an emergency treatment to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
“Aptar Pharma leads the industry in nasal drug delivery expertise. We have collaborated closely with Adapt Pharma to ensure the rapid approval of this potentially life-saving product using our Unit-Dose System (UDS),” Aptar president Salim Haffar said in a statement. “The regulations and requirements for market approvals are rapidly evolving and customers must seek out trusted partners like Aptar Pharma. We are continually investing in resources and capabilities to support our customers in reaching the market quickly.”
- here's the inhaler release
- and the nasal spray release
- and here is inPharmatechnologist's take