World’s first lung biosimulator for inhaled drug testing launched by University spin-out company

Imagine if you could treat diabetes with an inhaler instead of a needle? Well this dream could be a step closer to being realised thanks to the development of the world’s first lung biosimulator. The new Pulmorphix lung biosimulator offers the pharmaceutical industry the holy grail of drug development – a reliable way of testing how drugs will behave when they are inhaled. 

Imagine if you could treat diabetes with an inhaler instead of a needle? Well this dream could be a step closer to being realised thanks to the development of the world’s first lung biosimulator.

The new Pulmorphix lung biosimulator offers the pharmaceutical industry the holy grail of drug development – a reliable way of testing how drugs will behave when they are inhaled.

Currently there is no specific, industry-wide accepted technology for testing orally inhaled products or OIPs. The Pulmorphix lung biosimulator solves this problem by mimicking conditions in the deep lung, such as temperature, humidity, breathing, light and lung fluid composition, providing a reliable and reproducible method for analysing drug release from OIPs.

This new technology has the potential to radically change how pharmaceutical companies test and develop OIPs for the treatment of conditions like asthma, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

With the support of Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Dr Mike Davies, a senior lecturer in Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutics, has been developing this new technology and prototype device for the last six years.

Now the University has established a new spin out company – Pulmorphix – to realise the full potential of this revolutionary new technology.

Kish Mistry, Pulmorphix Chief Executive, explained:

“An increasing number of therapy areas are using the pulmonary route to administer drug therapy, such as anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, pain management, migraine, cystic fibrosis, anticoagulation, osteoporosis, anaemia and diabetes.

“The problem is little is currently known about the interaction of inhaled drug particles with the lung or pulmonary fluids, a process known as dissolution. Pulmorphix technology can bridge this knowledge gap within the pharmaceutical industry and that is why this new technology is such a game changer.”

OIPs have real advantages over other drugs; they bypass the liver, are often taken in lower doses and have fewer side effects for patients. Plus there’s no need for painful injections or needles and as the drugs are in powder form, there is no need for cold storage. As such OIPs have the potential to revolutionise the way drugs and vaccines can be delivered to patients.

Dr Mike Davies, Pulmorphix Scientific Director, added:

“The pharmaceutical industry needs an accurate replication of the in vivo pulmonary environment in order to develop new and better inhaled drugs. Pulmorphix has the solution – the world’s first lung biosimulator – which replicates the conditions in the deep lung and provides a reliable method for drug developers to test how their drugs will behave when inhaled into the lungs.”

Pulmorphix has already secured £82K funding from the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s Innovation Agency, to further develop the patent-pending technology.

Now the company is seeking a further £100,000 investment for a 20% equity stake in the company, which Pulmorphix hopes to raise in the next 60 days via CrowdCube, an FCA-regulated equity crowdsourcing platform.

Kish Mistry, Pulmorphix Chief Executive, explained:

“We believe this is the first time that a university spin-out company has offered an equity share via crowdfunding. This is a fantastic opportunity for both established and new investors to support an exciting new technology company which has the potential to transform how the pharmaceutical industry develops and tests inhaled drugs.

“We estimate that the dissolution profiling market of OIPs could be worth around £1.5billion and we are already talking to several major biopharmaceutical companies involved in drug delivery treatment via the lungs, who are interested in our services and technology.

“We are confident that within five years, we will be the market leader for testing inhaled drugs and can deliver excellent returns for our investors.”

Notes to editors:

• For more information about Pulmorphix, go to: www.pulmorphix.com
• For more information on how to invest in the company via CrowdCube go to: http://www.crowdcube.com/investment/pulmorphix-15023
• Dr Mike Davies is a UK registered Pharmacist and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology. He is currently employed by Liverpool John Moores University as a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutics.
• Kish Mistry is an experienced business executive with extensive hands-on commercial responsibilities at GSK and Serona. He has worked at Director and Board levels in the UK and Europe, with implementation responsibilities in the USA and Asia. He has been involved with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors for more than 25 years.

For further information, please contact:

Shonagh Wilkie, LJMU Press Office: 0151 231 3346, 07929 999489

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