A study by University of Washington researchers published in the September 2011 issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, the official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society, demonstrates improved delivery of morphine and fentanyl in rats via a “pressurized olfactory device” (POD) compared to conventional nasal administration. The researchers are also founders of Impel NeuroPharma, which is developing the device.
A company listing describes the device as follows: “Impel’s Pressurized Olfactory Delivery (POD) device uses dynamic airflow to deliver therapeutics to the brain via the upper nasal cavity and olfactory epithelium. This region represents a unique pathway to bypass the blood-brain barrier and allow neuro-active compounds and biotechnology products to be readily absorbed into the brain. The device incorporates a safety interlock, is cost-effective to manufacture, comfortable to use, the size of an asthma-inhaler, disposable, composed of medical grade plastics and uses FDA-approved excipients. Impel’s pipeline includes analgesics, chemotherapeutics and anti-retrovirals.”
According to the patent application, the device “having one or more channels for imparting a circumferential and axial velocity to the discharged fluid, and an outlet that discharges an aerosol spray having a circumferential and axial velocity as it enters the nasal cavity of a user. The device is designed to displace the air in the upper nasal cavity in order to specifically deposit a therapeutic agent on the olfactory epithelium while minimizing pressure and discomfort experienced by the user.”
According to the authors, the POD device produced a nose-to-CNS direct transport percentage between 38% and 55% for morphine and “faster (5 vs 10 minutes) and more intense analgesic effect” for fentanyl compared to nasal respiratory administration.
Read the abstract
