Boehringer Ingelheim to expand German production of Respimat inhaler

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced that it will be expanding production capacity for its Respimat inhaler in Dortmund to 44 million units per year.

The company will spend more than 100 million euros (78.18 million pounds) on this project, creating around 100 new jobs in the process. The Boehringer Ingelheim microParts facility in Dortmund currently employs more than 550 members of staff.

Advanced technology has helped Respimat to achieve considerable market penetration. Without using propellants, the inhaler is able to generate a long-lasting fine mist that transports the active ingredient to the user's lungs.

The inhalers are filled with the relevant active pharmaceutical ingredients at the company headquarters in Ingelheim and then distributed worldwide.

Dr Wolfgang Baiker, member of the board of managing directors at Boehringer Ingelheim responsible for operations, said: "We want to continue this success story. The Respimat inhaler will also in future be the inhalation device for applying our respiratory medications."

This comes after the firm's Respimat-administered drug Spiriva was accepted in a new indication in the EU last month as an add-on maintenance bronchodilator treatment for adult patients with asthma.