NEXTHALER, AN INNOVATIVE DRY POWDER INHALER DELIVERING AN EXTRA-FINE COMBINATION OF BECLOMETHASONE AND FORMOTEROL TO TREAT LARGE AND SMALL AIRWAYS IN ASTHMA

Abstract

Recent studies have reported that small airway abnormalities are common among patients with asthma and can also be found in patients without signs of proximal airflow obstruction. The peripheral airways commonly referred to as the small airways, are airways with <2 mm in internal diameter and account for a significant part of the total airflow resistance in asthmatics. Generally, particles <5 μm have the potential to be deposited into the airways. Formulations with a small mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) have been shown to provide higher lung deposition with better penetration into the small airways than those with a higher MMAD. The inhaler has been shown to be a very important factor in ensuring that the inhaled drug reaches the entire bronchial tree, even its peripheral parts, and thus improves asthma management and symptom control. The NEXThaler® dry powder inhaler (DPI) has been specifically designed to meet the requirements of patients with persistent asthma with a regular daily treatment that can allow maximum efficacy in both the large and small airways. The available information confirms that the NEXThaler® DPI addresses these needs as 1) the open-inhale-close inhalation sequence makes NEXThaler® DPI easy to be used by patients every day, 2) the triple full dose feedback system linked to the BAM activation permits that the full therapeutic dose is taken by the patients at each inhalation, and 3) the extra-fine formulation allows the drug particles to be delivered throughout the entire bronchial tree.