tPAD (Trans nasal Pulmonary Aerosol Delivery)

Respiratory Disease Overview

Breathing provides us with the oxygen we need to survive, but also exposes us to pathogens and other hazardous particles.  To protect our bodies, the lungs possess an elegant system to remove harmful particles from the airways, known as mucociliary clearance.  Mucociliary clearance consists of a sticky mucus layer, which traps inhaled particles, and the coordinated beating of cilia that propel the mucus toward the mouth, where it is either swallowed or coughed out.

For mucociliary clearance to work properly, the mucus must be sticky enough to efficiently trap particles, yet not too viscous to impair the vigorous beating of the cilia.  Failure of any of these components leads to pulmonary mucus accumulation and an array of pulmonary diseases.  In many environmental and genetic airway diseases, such as cystic fibrosis (CF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), non-CF bronchiectasis, and asthma are characterized by inadequately hydrated mucus and mucus over production.  In primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), the cilia do not beat effectively and cannot clear mucus from the lungs.  The accumulation of mucus in the lungs causes a vicious cycle of inflammation, infection, and the progressive loss of lung function, which are life-threatening.

tPAD Drug Delivery

The tPAD Drug Delivery is designed to:

• Improve patient tolerability: Inhaled medications are administered slowly, transnasally, which is expected to minimize cough and irritation to the lungs.
• Minimize daytime treatment burdens
• TPAD administers aerosolized medications through a hands-free nasal cannula, during overnight sleep or over a six hour period where the patient is able to multitask during administration.
• Extend the duration of action: The TPAD continuously delivers medications throughout the night or over a longer hands free period, thus providing long-lasting therapeutic benefits.
• Serve as a drug-delivery platform technology: The TPAD technology is designed to also accommodate a wide array of therapeutic agents for a multitude of respiratory diseases.  Provides the ability to deliver aerosolized medicine over a long duration while providing deposition comparable to other inhalation devices.

tPAD Drug Delivery for Lung Clearance

Parion is currently developing the TPAD device in combination with hypertonic saline for the mobilization of mucus and sputum from patients with respiratory disorders.