“Lack of patient adherence in asthma and COPD has been identified as a major issue for a number of years,” Pierre Carlotti, a spokesman from Aptar told in-Pharmatechnologist.com. “Enhanced patient adherence with the dose regimen is key to improve healthcare outcomes while lowering healthcare costs.”
Therefore the firm has launched its eDose Counter at the Respiratory Drug Delivery (RRD) conference in Phoenix, Arizona last week.
The platform uses sensing technology which detects the spray from an MDI and tracks the number of dosages electronically. This eliminates risks of miscounting, according to Carlotti, one of a number of benefits compared to current marketed MDI dose indicators and counters in terms of user experience and safety.
“Marketed MDI dose indicators and counters are based on pressure or displacement-driven mechanical technologies to capture the user actuation event. These technologies do not always meet the expectations of users, regulators and other stakeholders due to the lack of robustness, which impacts safety, e.g., miscounting events.”
He added such technology can provide product differentiation for pharma companies but when asked, was unable to disclose the cost to an MDI the technology would add.
However, he said Aptar received a positive response from industry during a cocktail reception hosted by Aptar at RRD.
“The response from the inhalation community has been very enthusiastic and pharmaceutical companies are already asking for proposals and samples to start discussing concrete projects.”