Loughborough University looks to lower environmental impact of inhalers

The project aims to reduce harm caused to the environment and increasing the effectiveness of inhalers in the treatment of COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and asthma. This is in conjunction with the COP26 campaign to demonstrate the positive impact research can have on environmental issues.

The work carried out by Loughborough university and Kindeva (a drug manufacturer) is partially financed by UKRI Innovate UK. The groups aim to find a way to get medicine to the lungs using an inhaler with propellants that are more environmentally friendly, with Dr Hendrik Versteeg and Prof. Weeratunge Malalasekera at Loughborough being the leading researchers.

Currently, inhaler canisters release approximately 8.91 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. It is said that each individual canister (13g) can produce over 18.5g of carbon dioxide each year. This is the same as a 65-mile journey in a car.

By 2036, the pharmaceutical industry has to stop producing pressurised metered- dose inhalers (pMDI’s) in favour of those with propellants that have a lower GWP (Global Warming Potential).

Dr Versteeg said “The GWP of the propellants HFC134a and HFA227ea, which are currently used in inhalation products, is 1430 and 3220, respectively. And the target GWP for CO2 is 1 – so they are powerful greenhouse gases. The main candidate to replace them is HFA152a, which has recently been approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) for clinical trials. It has a GWP of 124, so that’s at least a 90 per cent improvement on the impact on global warming if all HFC134a based inhalers are successfully replaced by inhalers based on HFA152a.”

In the UK alone, almost 5.5 million people are being treated for asthma (Asthma UK), with a predicted 1.2 million living with COPD. Over 480 million people around the globe use inhalers to aid various respiratory issues.

“The work is important because the disease of many asthma and COPD patients is stabilised by the medication delivered by these products. This propellant changeover will need a huge effort and cost, but the changeover in the 1990s and 2000s from CFC products to HFC134a and HFA227ea brought significant product improvements.”