Vectura and CCL announce new inhaler technology merger

UK companies Cambridge Consultants (CCL) and Vectura have announced the merger of CCL's Aspirairae inhaler technology and development team with Vectura's existing drug delivery business. The deal will enable Vectura to combine device and formulation capabilities and become a leading provider of integrated drug delivery solutions to the worldwide pharmaceutical industry. CCL will acquire a stake in Vectura and a seat on the Vectura board.

Aspirairae has been developed by CCL over the past three years and is capable of highly efficient delivery of drugs to the bloodstream via the lung, providing a potential alternative to injection. The device is capable of consistently delivering at least 80% of a dry powder dose to the deep lung to provide both effective local treatment and systemic delivery into the blood stream.

A recent study of competing technologies suggests that the new device delivers 10%-20% more drug than any other device currently at the same stage of development. Aspirairae is also said to be considerably smaller, simpler to use, and cheaper to manufacture than rival devices.

Stephen Eason, who led CCL's Aspirairae team and now takes up the post of director of device development at Vectura, commented: 'This new generation of device offers a discrete, simple to use, alternative to injection. This will clearly have a very positive effect on the lives of many.'

Under the agreement, the CCL team of five engineers and designers who worked on the Aspirairae development will be integrated into all of Vectura's device development programmes. The device development team will remain in the Cambridge area, initially making use of CCL's incubator facility, and plans over the next 12 months to more than double the number of engineers, scientists and designers working in this part of the business.

'The integration of this technology and one of the best teams of medical device engineers is an excellent fit for us,' said Professor John Staniforth, chief scientific officer of Vectura. 'Together with our cutting-edge expertise in particle science, we can make a significant step forward in delivering the next generation of drug delivery devices to pharmaceutical companies, and in turn, patients.'

Despite the planned transference of the Aspirairae team to Vectura, CCL retains a strong capability in drug delivery covering inhalation, infusion and injection, an area of its business currently enjoying strong growth. The last two months alone have seen the company win two multi-million pound contracts from mainland Europe and west Coast America.