Simultaneous Spray Drying For Innovative Dry-Powder Inhaler Combination Formulations: Q&A

Spray drying, a particle engineering technique used to convert a liquid feed into a dry powder in a single, continuous step, is one of the most promising manufacturing techniques currently utilized in the pharmaceutical industry. The control that spray drying allows – particularly as it relates to particle size, morphology, and stability – affords a number of advantages for inhaler formulations for pulmonary delivery. This control, coupled with new techniques pioneered to facilitate more complex combination therapies for inhalant drugs, has the potential to transform patient care for many rare and intractable diseases.

Combination therapies delivered to the lung by dry powder inhalers are an effective way of reducing the treatment burden on patients. Inhaled formulations are traditionally prepared by micronization and blending, but many APIs are not compatible with milling, including biologics. These drugs might also require a higher dose than can be achieved with a micronize-and-blend approach.

In a recent webinar, “Simultaneous Spray Drying for Innovative Dry Powder Inhaler Combination Formulations,” Dr. Kimberly Shepard, a principal R&D engineer at Lonza, offered insights into the “simul-spray” process pioneering at Lonza for combining small and large molecules into a single, atomized drug product for inhalation administration. The following Q&A session was held after this webinar, where Dr. Shepard was able to address attendee questions about Lonza’s work.