AptarGroup’s intranasal drug delivery system was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the needle-free rescue treatment of diabetic patients with severe hypoglycemia. The drug delivery solution is a single-use device that delivers a powder formulation to the nasal passages in an emergency.
Manufactured at Aptar’s site in Congers, New York, the Unidose System for powder is the company’s first combination drug delivery device with a protective active packaging container. It was developed by Aptar CSP Technologies and uses the company’s Activ-Polymer technology for moisture protection to ensure the shelf-life of the drug and mitigate any environmental conditions impacting the drug.
Stephan Tanda, Aptar’s president and CEO, said in a statement, “Our lab and analytic service capabilities combined with our unique drug delivery devices and active packaging solutions create tremendous value for our customers and help them secure approval. The ultimate end result is that we help expand access to life-saving treatments with our patient-friendly systems.”
The company offers single or two-shot intranasal delivery for a variety of medicines. However, the system has been used for liquid formulations and commercialized for numerous drug products, including Narcan, the nasal form of Naloxone, used for the treatment of opioid overdose.
According to a spokesperson for Aptar, intranasal drug delivery enables the drug to be quickly absorbed through the nasal mucosa making it an alternative to injectable kits.
The spokesperson said to produce a single-dose, the product must be primeless and, until recently, liquid formulations were the main drugs used in this type of delivery. However, a second wave of development saw a repurposing of the system to enable powder formulations.
Aptar Group also recently acquired two pharmaceutical services companies, Nanopharma and Gateway analytical, to bolster its analytical, testing, and development capabilities. The company’s acquisition of Nanopharm saw Aptar gain access to its analytical and drug development services focused on orally inhaled and nasal drug products.
