Chiesi announced that the company has signed an agreement with Koura (formerly Mexichem) for supply of HFA 152a propellant as part of a €350 million plan to bring a pMDI with a 90% lower carbon footprint to market by the end of 2025. The company, which has also pledged that it would be carbon neutral by 2035, made the announcement at the Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25). Chiesi is the first company to announce publicly that it would develop a marketed product with HFA 152a as an inhaler propellant.
Koura has been discussing the potential of HFA 152a with inhaler developers since at least 2016, pointing out that its use would make the carbon footprint of an MDI similar to that of a DPI and that it might also enhance the chemical stability of certain APIs. A Mexichem workshop on the potential use of HFA 152a at RDD Europe 2019 was very well attended.
According to Chiesi, the company has already made a €50 million investment in new manufacturing facilities for the HFA 152a formulation. The company said that it would work with Koura to complete the toxicology package and would then move on to clinical trials.
Chiesi Group CEO Ugo Di Francesco commented, “We believe protecting patient health and the environment should not be a matter of compromise. We are proud to supply both pMDI and DPI inhalers and to have taken decisive and ambitious action to ensure patients can continue to access the inhaler options that best suit their needs, whilst innovating to find the most environmentally conscious solution available. Switching treatments for non-clinical reasons has the potential to have a negative impact on patients’ health, as well as placing an added strain on resources. Patients should not have to shoulder the burden of environmental responsibility when considering treatment options that affect their health In the face of a global climate crisis, we must all share the burden of action. I can only encourage other industry players to join us.”
Read the Chiesi press release.
