Drug delivery device developer 1nhaler has raised £2.2m ($2.9m) to advance the development of its cardboard-based pop-up asthma inhaler through a clinical trial, with a view to a planned regulatory filing later next year.
The Scotland-based company’s 1nhaler Salbutamol combines the device’s pop-up mechanism with salbutamol, a well-established asthma medicine.
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Led by Archangels and also featuring participation from Scottish Enterprise and BBB Investments, 1nhaler intends to use the funding round’s proceeds to support the dry powder inhaler’s (DPI) technical transfer into contract manufacturing and initiate a clinical trial to support a regulatory filing – targeted for late 2027.
Primarily made out of cardboard, 1nhaler’s dry powder inhaler (DPI) is roughly the size of a credit card and transitions into a three-dimensional inhaler. Fitted with a patented membrane-based system, the inhaler’s design is intended to be simpler and more affordable to manufacture at scale, 1nhaler stated. Meanwhile, the platform has the potential to deliver dry powder medicines for a range of other uses beyond respiratory conditions, including pain relief and vaccines, the company added.
Lisa McMyn, co-founder and CEO at 1nhaler, commented: “This investment takes us to one of the most important milestones in our journey – taking our own lead product into the clinic.”
Asthma, which is characterised by recurrent attacks of breathlessness, affects approximately 7.2 million people in the UK and 363 to 434 million people worldwide, as per the World Health Organization (WHO).
Given the high proportion of asthma patients in the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends DPIs as a first-line treatment for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) where possible, versus pressurised metered-dose inhalers (MDIs), given that DPIs represent a more environmentally friendly choice with comparable benefits. DPIs have only 20g of carbon dioxide per equivalent dose compared to an MDI’s 500g.
Commenting on 1nhaler’s financing, Dr Sarah Hardy, director and head of new investments at Archangels, said: “We see this latest round as a reflection of our confidence in the team and its novel inhaler device that has the potential to disrupt the global market for inhaled medicines. We are particularly excited by the commercial traction and interest from potential partners across a broader range of drugs than we initially anticipated, highlighting the platform’s versatility and market potential.”
