MedPharm aims to reduce onset of action to less than 30 minutes through nasal delivery of a reformulated benzodiazepine compared with the one to two hours taken by existing tablet and softgel formulations.
The grant will be part of a collaboration with OptiNose, a company developing a nasal device based on its patented bi-directional delivery technology. The product, which will combine MedPharm’s novel formulation with OptiNose’s device, will enable quick onset of action by direct delivery of the improved formulation to the target sites in nasal cavity. This route of administration will ensure reproducibility and in turn is expected to lead to improved user compliance.
MedPharm CSO Dr Marc Brown sees a major opportunity for the new spray formulation. “With current market leader zolpidem due to come off patent in 2007, there will be an influx of generics, combined with product line extensions,” he commented. “We aim to take advantage with our new fast-acting product.”
The company revealed that, once data for the product candidate’s insomnia indication are available, additional indications requiring rapid onset of action, such as panic attacks and jetlag, will also be considered.