Capsugel and Pulmatrix have announced an agreement for development of new inhaled therapies based on the spray drying and manufacturing expertise at Capsugel’s Bend Research subsidiary combined with Pulmatrix’s iSPERSE dry powder technology.
Bend Research Head of Alliance Strategy Dan Dobry commented, “This strategic partnership with Pulmatrix puts our companies at the forefront of bringing unique inhalation products to the market to deliver better patient outcomes. We look forward to working with Pulmatrix to help advance its pipeline of proprietary and partnered products utilizing our spray dry technology and infrastructure, and to jointly explore opportunities to collaborate with the broader pharmaceutical industry to develop next-generation inhalation therapies.”
Pulmatrix CEO Robert Clarke said, “This collaboration provides us with access to Capsugel’s spray dry technology, scale-up capabilities, and state-of-the-art equipment to support our growing pipeline of internal and partnered development programs. In the near term, Capsugel will fulfill manufacturing needs for our planned clinical trial activities in cystic fibrosis and, longer term, will enable us to manufacture iSPERSE-based products at commercial scale. With this partnership, we can achieve these goals cost-effectively and without the risk or required capital to build and maintain these essential capabilities.”
In mid-2015, Bend Research completed a $25 million expansion of its commercial spray drying manufacturing facility in Bend, Oregon. Capsugel says that it is also adding to its encapsulation services for DPIs as well as full cGMP analytical services for inhaled products.
Pulmatrix recently announced the start of a bioequivalence study for its PUR0200 DPI for the treatment of COPD. Its pipeline includes an inhaled anti-fungal for the treatment of cystic fibrosis and an inhaled biologic for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Read the Capsugel press release.
