Next-gen sustainable inhalers on the horizon

A £33 million grant from the UK Government’s Life Sciences Innovation Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) is set to enhance manufacturing of sustainable inhalers.

The joint government-industry investment will aid capability and capacity for the drug delivery device contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Kindeva Drug Delivery to manufacture next generation green pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs).

Next-gen drug delivery – sustainable inhalers

This funding supports global inhaler manufacturing and development using new, lower global warming potential (GWP) propellants.

LSIMF’s grant provides Kindeva with a “springboard” to partner with leading pharmaceutical companies around the world to bring the next generation of green inhalers to market, according to Kindeva’s Global Chief Commercial Officer David Stevens.  

This is noteworthy because “significant technical and regulatory expertise is required in the development and manufacturing of complex inhalation products,” commented Stevens.

£33 million of investment will support new manufacturing capability and capacity for these products in Loughborough, UK. It will also facilitate sustainability improvements to Kindeva’s core inhaler componentry supply chain at its other site in Clitheroe, UK.

The financial boost will create 40 full-time jobs and safeguard 218 existing full-time jobs across both Kindeva’s sites in Clitheroe and Loughborough.

Life sciences sector to receive £650 million funding

This new funding to support development of sustainable inhalers and thus environmental targets in the drug delivery sector follows on from a £650 million funding boost as part of the ‘Life Sci for Growth’ package, announced by the UK Chancellor in May 2023.

“The pace of new technology is transforming the [life sciences] sector,” stated UK Minister of State for Science, Research & Innovation, George Freeman MP. The £33 million LSIMF investment is a sign of “our commitment… to deliver a robust future for UK life sciences,” Freeman added.

The UK grant is the sixth investment through the LSIMF. In the last financial year, the LSIMF has supported UK life sciences manufacturing with £340 million in joint government and industry support. 

LSIMF, launched in April 2021, is a continuation from the Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund (MDMTF) pilot programme.