0434_GF_OnDrugDelivery Pulmonary April 2011.indd

Copyright © 2011 Frederick Furness Publishing 18 The route of administration is critical for any medicine. For decades, the most common dosage forms were either oral or for injection. Patients generally preferred oral therapies over injected medications because oral delivery is non-invasive and convenient. Based on this preference and advances in drug delivery technologies, several other non-invasive dosage forms, including orally inhaled dry powders, have been developed and offer excellent alternatives to the more traditional “pills and needles”. Drug delivery by inhalation presents unique advantages that are not available with other modes of administration. For example, the large surface area of the lung (about the size of a tennis court) provides efficient drug absorption. Additionally, inhalation is simple and convenient, particularly with the newest innovations in inhaler design and function. Even the challenges previously inherent in developing inhalation products are nearing resolution. The concept of translational medicine has been introduced into the development of inhalation products with the advent of advanced inhalation development technologies that directly link the bench and the bedside. Self-administered inhaled drugs were initially used only to treat pulmonary diseases, like asthma, where direct delivery to the site of action provided a clear advantage. However, inhalation dosage forms have evolved significantly over the past decade expanding their use in a wide spectrum of disease therapies ranging from pulmonary indications routinely treated with inhaled medicines (asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) to novel applications of the inhalation route to treat systemic diseases (irritable bowel disease, schizophrenia, migraine, diabetes, and obesity). Notable recent progress in the inhaled drug arena for non-pulmonary indications includes: the development of Staccato Loxapine for the potential treatment of schizophrenia (Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Mountain View, CA, US); Afrezza for the potential treatment of diabetes (MannKind Corporation), LevadexTM for the potential treatment of migraine (MAP Pharmaceuticals, Mountain View, CA, US), and Inavir, an anti-influenza treatment launched by Daichii Sankyo (Tokyo, Japan). MannKind Corporation develops pulmonary drug delivery systems that combine a dry powder formulation with convenient, patient-friendly devices. Transitioning combination products from concept to clinical practice is simplified by innovative technologies that have been developed by MannKind.