Respiratory Study Finds Inhaler Trigger OK for Ill Patients
On World Asthma Day, Valois Pharma revealed the results of a clinical study with patients suffering from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using its proprietary Dry Powder Inhaler, Prohaler. Patients use the Prohaler by opening the device, inhaling the powder dose, and closing it. Inhaling triggers the release of a dose of medication, and a dose counter reminds the patient how many doses are left in the device.
The hospital-based study was carried out from December 2007 to April 2009 at the CHRU (Tours, France). It was led by Professor Patrice Diot, a respiratory physician and president of ISAM (the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine), and Dr. Steve Newman, an expert consultant in inhaled dosage forms and founder of Pharmaceutical Profiles Ltd. Sixty patients suffering from asthma or COPD took part in the two-phase study. Some of these patients had very poor lung capacity, as low as 30% of that of a normal healthy person.
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The study showed that all the patients, regardless of how ill they were, were able to trigger the device and inhale enough air for the medication to reach their lungs. Such results meant that most patients were able to correctly inhale a dose of medication. Results from the first phase of the study were presented by Dr. Newman at a scientific conference in Scotland last December. Final results from the study will be published in the coming months.
“Better packaging can help improve compliance in respiratory drug delivery,” says Guillaume Brouet, director of pulmonary business development for Valois Pharma, “User-friendly dry powder inhaler devices that are intuitive to use can, for example, help avoid product misuse and can therefore improve clinical efficacy.”
Use of dose indicators or dose counters also can help patients use their metered-dose Inhaler product appropriately and monitor the amount of product/doses that are left in the inhaler, adds Brouet. “Products that encourage better dosing enable good adherence to treatment for controller medication, and this reduces the risk of asthma attacks and consecutive costly hospitalisations.”
