New service for evaluating inhalation uses novel radiolabelling techniques and the latest three dimensional imaging technology
Early phase drug development specialist Pharmaceutical Profiles has launched a unique new service for evaluating inhalation products in more detail than ever before by using new radiolabelling techniques and the latest three dimensional imaging technology.
gs3 is being billed by the company as a new dimension in imaging - and not without good reason.
The new service includes TechneCoat, a new patent protected radiolabelling technique, a new way of analysing data from conventional two-dimensional studies so that they have even greater anatomical relevance and human lung absorption studies to identify the areas of the lung where drug absorption is the greatest.
Key to the new gs3 service has been a £300,000 investment by the company in a brand new state of the art dual headed gamma camera, which produces three-dimensional images, mapping the distribution of the inhaled product within the lung. According to head of inhalation business development, Peter Hirst, this represents a major step forward for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Hirst believes the new service will be of relevance to virtually every sector of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries working in inhaled drug delivery. "gs3 will appeal to all sectors of the industry developing products for administration by inhalation," he said. "Three-dimensional imaging is particularly valuable to those clients who need a detailed understanding of regional lung deposition for example, those trying to target certain lung regions for the treatment of certain diseases." "The new radiolabelling approach is highly applicable to the assessment of dry powder inhalers, while the new method of two-dimensional data analysis will provide a better understanding of any product delivered to the lung.
Conventional two dimensional data analysis uses three square regions of interest. The new method will divide the lungs into a greater number of curved regions," Hirst explained.
"The greater number of regions will allow lung deposition to be characterised in greater detail and the curved lung regions have more anatomical relevance than the traditional square regions." The targeting studies will be of value to those companies using the lung as a method of delivered drugs to the blood stream ie identifying the lung regions associated with greatest absorption." The launch of the new service is the latest in a series of major announcements by Pharmaceutical Profiles.
It recently moved into a state of the art facility in Nottingham and has continued to attract studies from the UK, Europe, the United States and Asia.
It has also just completed a successful recruitment drive to build its regional panel of volunteers who assist in its studies.
