Date: 2014-05-22
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: Inspiro Medical (Germany)
Acquiring company: OPKO Health (USA)
Amount: undisclosed
Terms: * On May 22, 2014, OPKO Health announced that it has completed the acquisition of Inspiro Medical, an Israeli medical device company developing a new platform to deliver small molecule drugs such as corticosteroids and beta agonists or larger molecules to treat respiratory diseases. Inspiro\'s Inspiromatic™ is a \"smart\" easy-to-use dry powder inhaler with several advantages over existing devices.
Details: The Inspiromatic dry powder inhaler incorporates: an active powder de-agglomerator based on a micro-pump and vortex to deliver fine particles, independent of the patient’s inhalation abilities; sensors to monitor patient inhalation; and a microcontroller to calculate the optimal time for drug delivery. In May 2013, Inspiro successfully concluded a first-in-man study in which both primary and secondary endpoints were met. Statistically, the Inspiromatic™ performed significantly better than the market gold standard inhaler. (This study served as confirmation of the successful in vitro studies Inspiro Medical conducted in July 2012, which clearly demonstrated Inspiromatic’s cutting-edge technology for improved drug deposition in the lung.) The aim of the FIM study, which was conducted at Schneider Children’s Medical Center, in Petach Tikva, Israel, was to objectively assess the efficacy and safety profiles of bronchodilator treatment via Inspiromatic™ in 30 asthmatic children, as compared to its delivery via a gold-standard inhaler. The results demonstrated superior performance by Inspiromatic in pulmonary delivery of the active drug. Lung function test (FEV1) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement following drug delivery via the Inspiromatic. Successful delivery of the API was achieved on patients with poor inhalation technique and even those with a low-flow inhalation rate.
Related: Medical device
