Matching delivery device to a patient’s condition: Use of lung deposition modelling to optimise delivery in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis  

Sandy Munro¹, Mark Main¹ & Wim Vos²

¹Vectura Ltd, One Prospect West, Chippenham, SN14 6FH, UK

²FluidDa nv, Groeningenlei 132, 2550 Kontich, BE877 160 706, Belgium

Summary                                  

As companies consider the development of new products directed towards specific patient groups e.g. paediatrics, or towards niche diseases or specific disease severities, the question of which is the most appropriate inhalation drug delivery system, is arising more frequently.  Where a range of delivery platforms (dry powder inhaler (DPI), pressurised metered dose inhaler, (pMDI) or nebuliser) is available for selection, it is possible to use representative performance data to conduct a series of deposition modelling experiments using lung computed tomography (CT) scans from real patients to allow for deposition comparisons that could provide a more scientific rationale for device selection. 

In this study, representative aerosols delivered by several inhaler systems were administered in silico to five pairs of lungs, scanned from patients with a range of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) disease severity.  The results of these modelling experiments demonstrated that significantly improved lung (particularly small airways), deposition is achievable with certain smart nebuliser systems as a consequence of their long-slow-deep, breath-activated inhalation, when compared with standard jet nebulisation.  The DPI device and formulation studied herein provided a more even deposition throughout all lung regions across a range of different inhalation flow rates.

Whilst computational experiments are based upon a series of assumptions, they can provide guidance in selecting an appropriate inhalation drug delivery platform for a given disease, severity of disease or patient group.