Glyn Taylor of i2c Pharmaceutical Services described various strategies for creating MDI formulations of biologics that have succeeded with some molecules, including the use of nanoparticles and a variety of excipients, as well as the tablet in can technology. Taylor discussed several recent successes in the formulation of macromolecules and biologics for delivery by MDI, while Peter York of Crystec Pharma discussed particle engineering methods, which might be used to formulate biologics for DPI delivery.
Professor Roland Buhl of Mainz University Hospital discussed the use of biologics in the treatment of asthma in the meeting’s second plenary lecture, noting that while inhalation is not always the best delivery method for biologics, it can be a very good way. Most of the therapies that Buhl discussed, including omalizumab, mepolizumab, reslizumab, and benralizumab, are injectables, but he also noted that studies of inhaled DNAzymes targeting GATA-3 have shown good results in allergic asthma. “The future is now in asthma,” Buhl said, suggesting that the way forward lies in “personalized, targeted asthma treatment based on phenotype-specific diagnosis and biomarkers.”
In addition to new targets for asthma, the “Beyond Asthma & COPD” session was dedicated to new targets for inhaled drugs: Adapt Pharma’s Head of Technical Operations, Fintan Keegan gave an account of the development of the company’s Narcan naloxone nasal spray; Rémi Rosière of the Université Libre de Bruxelles described a new nanocarrier designed for use in aerosolized chemotherapy against lung tumors; Jibriil Ibrahim of the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences discussed “Oxytocin receptor expression but a lack of response to oxytocin in airway tissues”; and Rhamiya Mahendran of the University of Hertfordshire spoke about “Anti-inflammatory activity of novel trans-stilbene sulfonamide analogues as potential novel therapeutic agents for lung disease.”
Several talks addressed new modeling techniques to advance OINDP development. Mandana Azimi of Virginia Commonwealth University discussed the use of realistic nasal airway models developed at VCU for in vitro bioequivalence testing of nasal sprays. Alan McKiernan of Prior PLM Medical described the use of Schlieren imaging for characterizing both MDIs and DPIs; and Barzin Gavtash of Loughborough University described a theoretical method for predicting pMDI spray characteristics.
