MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, The European Society of Medicine published a study containing game-changing data on how patient experience can be significantly improved via a computationally-guided intranasal spray protocol to augment therapeutic penetration. Even more exciting is this new nozzle, GentleMist, with important clinical implications for improving patient compliance that can ultimately result in more targeted and effective treatments for COVID-19, Rhinitis, and Sinusitis.
You can read the full study by clicking here: Evaluation of Patient Experience for a Computationally-Guided Intranasal Spray Protocol to Augment Therapeutic Penetration: Implications for Effective Treatments for COVID-19, Rhinitis, and Sinusitis | Medical Research Archives (esmed.org)
The results of this study come at a pivotal moment as the world continues to try find new effective and less invasive methods to slow the spread of the COVID virus with the nose as the main target. The medical community knows all too well that traditionally many patients do not feel comfortable using effective intranasal therapies, especially those with chronic inflammatory conditions or with acute disease processes such as flu and COVID, which often leads to low compliance and poor therapeutic efficacy. With COVID and flu cases on the rise worldwide, this study was conducted with patient comfort levels top of mind. In this study, a novel atomizer, GentleMist, was used as it allows the patient to find the most appropriate angles and positions for effective nasal spray application while improving targeted therapeutic penetration for medications and even intranasal vaccines.
Background
The nasal route of targeted drug administration facilitates medical management of chronic and acute onsets of various respiratory conditions such as rhinitis and sinusitis and during the initial onset phase of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, when the infection is still contained within the upper airway. Nevertheless, patient comfort issues that are often associated with intranasal devise usage can lead to low compliance, thereby compromising treatment efficacy. Hence, there is an urgent need to detect reproducible and user-friendly intranasal drug delivery modalities that may promote adoption compliance and yet be effective at targeted transport of drugs to the infective airway regions.
Methods
In this pilot study, we have collected evaluation feedback from a cohort of 13 healthy volunteers, who used an open-angle swirling effect atomizer to assess two different nasal spray administration techniques (with 0.9% saline solution), namely the vertical placement protocol (or, VP), wherein the nozzle is held vertically upright at a shallow insertion depth of 0.5 cm inside the nasal vestibule; and the shallow angle protocol (or, SA), wherein the spray axis is angled at 45° to the vertical, with a vestibular insertion depth of 1.5 cm. The VP protocol is based on current usage instructions, while the SA protocol is derived from published findings on alternate spray orientations that have been shown to enhance targeted drug delivery at posterior infection sites, e.g., the ostiomeatal complex and the nasopharynx.
Results
All study participants reported that the SA protocol offered a more gentle and soothing delivery experience, with less impact pressure. Additionally, 60% of participants reported that the VP technique caused painful irritation. We also numerically tracked the drug transport processes for the two spray techniques in a computed tomography-based nasal cavity reconstruction; the SA protocol registered a distinct improvement in airway penetration when compared to the VP protocol.
Conclusion
The participant-reported unequivocally favorable experience with the new SA protocol justifies a full-scale clinical study aimed at testing the related medication compliance parameters and the corresponding therapeutic efficacies.
About Dr. Ferrer BioPharma
Dr. Ferrer BioPharma are the leading innovators in intranasal medications to treat cough, colds, flu, and allergies. Dr. Ferrer BioPharma uses advanced technology to bring high-quality, evidence-based, consumer-focused, and doctor-invented products to the market. The mission is to provide to the market evidence-based therapies combining new ideas with proven concepts in the service of helping people. From molecules to the delivery of effective therapies to treat the populations we serve, Dr. Ferrer BioPharma is designing top-of-the-line intranasal treatments to help people breathe better!