Resyca joint venture ready to push the boundaries of softmist technology

Joint venture between Recipharm and Medspray could provide significant advantages for patients and the environment, companies say

The companies said the technology will eliminate the need for propellants by delivering therapies deep into the lungs more effectively with lower doses as less ends up in the mouth and throat.

Jean-François Hilaire, EVP Strategy and Global Integration, Recipharm AB, said the company was seeing some excellent traction in this field and had already signed an agreement with several more in the pipeline.

Resyca will operate development facilities in Munich, Germany and spray nozzles will be supplied exclusively from Medspray in the Netherlands.

It is envisaged that commercial supply of finished devices will be manufactured and supplied by other Recipharm affiliates including the specialist device manufacturing capabilities located in King’s Lynn, UK.

In addition, Recipharm will receive an exclusive license to offer its customers the development and manufacturing of syringe-based devices using the softmist nozzle technology. Such devices will be marketed by Recipharm under the brand ‘Bespak by Recipharm’.

Using lithography and etching techniques from the semiconductor world, tiny pores (between 1.5 and 15 microns) can be created in ultrathin membranes. If a simple hydraulic pressure is applied, liquid jets emerge from the pores. By mixing the droplets with the inhalation air stream, a slow-moving cloud of soft mist is generated.

The selected existing fill and finish platform of prefilled glass syringes, with the softmist nozzles already mounted, gives good stability of the drug formulation over the shelf life, even for the complex biologic drugs of the near future, the companies said.