Revolutionary Occoris inhaler engine to make debut at RDD

At this month’s Respiratory Drug Delivery (RDD) conference in Phoenix, Arizona (13th May – 17th May), Team Consulting will be unveiling three inhaler concept designs based upon its revolutionary Occoris™ technology. Designed primarily for delivering systemic treatments beyond the typically inhaled topical asthma and COPD, such as vaccines, pain relief and insulin, the Occoris™ ‘engine’ is ultra-small, active and achieves very accurate and repeatable delivery of API-only formulations.

At the conference, Team will be showcasing prototypes for a single-use disposable inhaler, a multi-unit dose inhaler and a multi-dose inhaler – demonstrating the technology’s multi-platform credentials, and to illustrate the numerous design possibilities afforded by Occoris™.

The Occoris™ technology was developed by Team after the company identified a number of factors that are likely to shape the respiratory drug delivery market of the future:

Firstly, asthma and COPD inhalers typically use an inert carrier fraction to dilute the small quantities of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Inhalers that treat conditions beyond asthma and COPD will need to deliver a wide range of dose sizes which do not require a carrier fraction.

Secondly, inhalers for treating conditions such as diabetes, pain relief or delivering vaccines will require very different design approaches. The simplicity and small size (around the same size as a garden pea) of the Occoris™ engine gives designers incredible flexibility in form factor and materials. For example, one of the concepts on show at RDD will be for mass vaccination and can be produced largely out of recyclable cardboard.

Finally, regulators will demand much tighter dose content uniformity, higher delivery efficiencies and better independency of flow rate from inhalers. Early indications are that inhalers that use the active Occoris™ engine will deliver highly accurate dosage and repeatable performance.

“Delivering drug via the pulmonary route offers so many advantages over needles and tablets. The drug is quickly absorbed by the body, in powder form it doesn’t require cold storage and there is no user anxiety or danger of needle-stick injuries. With our Occoris™ technology we are opening up a wide range of new opportunities beyond the traditional and highly competitive asthma and COPD market, which will help our pharmaceutical clients to establish new revenue streams,” says David Harris, Head of Respiratory Drug Delivery at Team. “We are in the process of optimising the technology, and at this month’s RDD conference we’ll be sharing three novel inhaler concepts with the industry – and I’m looking forward to discussing the range of potential applications for the ground-breaking technology.”

Above – the multi-dose inhaler concept, based on Team’s Occoris™ technology

Above – the disposable inhaler concept, based on Team’s Occoris™ technology

Above – the multi-unit dose inhaler concept, based on Team’s Occoris™ technology

Above – the full range of inhaler concepts, all based on Team’s Occoris™ technology