Aptar Pharma, developer and manufacturer of nasal and pulmonary drug delivery devices, has developed a customized Dose Indicator for Flutiform®, a SkyePharma product licensed to Mundipharma Intl. Corp. Ltd. in Europe.
Flutiform is a combination of fluticasone propionate (fluticasone), an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), and formoterol fumarate (formoterol), a long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA). It is indicated for the maintenance treatment of asthma in patients aged 12 years and over, and in adults whose symptoms are not adequately controlled on an ICS and an as-required inhaled short-acting beta2-agonist (SABA), and in those patients who are already receiving treatment with both an ICS and LABA.
Flutiform is now available in several countries including Germany and the U.K., and EU marketing authorizations have been granted in a number of other European countries.
Flutiform is in a pressurized Metered Dose Inhaler (pMDI), and it incorporates Aptar Pharma’s Landmark dose indicator technology and customized metering valve.
With the help of Aptar Pharma’s R&D team, Flutiform was customized to include the dose indicator actuator, which indicates the remaining doses downwards and provides the patient with a visual color and numerical reference when it is time to renew the prescription before the canister becomes empty. This is regarded as an important safety benefit to patients. The Landmark dose-counting mechanism operates independently from the patient’s actuation force.
“For the first time in Europe, Flutiform is now available to both patients and doctors, combining two of the most effective asthma medications available. Flutiform offers patients a new fast-acting maintenance treatment in a modern and easy to use inhaler,” commented Peter Grant, CEO of SkyePharma. “We are pleased with the results of our collaboration with Aptar Pharma, which understood perfectly what we required, and developed the customized Landmark dose indicating actuator and metering valve, key components of Flutiform.”
