Integrated turnkey solutions: key to successful nasal combination product development

Nemera is developing and manufacturing complex nasal drug delivery solutions.

Alain Regard, Audrey Chandra and Pascale Farjas discuss the use of the nasal route for locally and systemic-acting drug treatments.

It’s that time of the year – the pollen season – and some of us might be experiencing what is commonly known as “hay fever”. One of the most common chronic conditions for which medical care – such as a nasal spray – is sought is rhinitis. Currently, approximately 10–30% of adults and 40% of children are affected.1 In fact, rhinitis can be induced by allergic stimuli, non-allergic triggers or both (mixed rhinitis). Allergic rhinitis only occurs in patients with a genetic predisposition to developing allergies.

Allergic rhinitis is thus mostly seasonal – a hypersensitivity reaction is triggered when allergens are present. The symptoms of such a condition can often be relieved and controlled; a nasal spray containing topical-acting medications is normally prescribed for patients to treat the affected nasal cavity regions.

Other than treating conditions locally, nasal delivery is also an attractive option to administer systemic therapies to target a range of conditions, from benign to serious. What’s more, the nasal route is non-invasive and does not require a healthcare professional’s intervention when patients can self-administer their remedy, to rapid effect. Additionally, it provides better bioavailability as drug administration via the nasal route avoids the hepatic first-pass effect which could be encountered when taking medications orally.

Nemera has several decades of experience developing and manufacturing complex nasal devices – with a wide range of successful market references across the globe, both in regulated and low-regulated countries – to ultimately improve the quality of life of end users. The company has robust large-scale GMP manufacturing capabilities and produces millions of various nasal spray pumps every year. These devices are used to deliver drug formulations through the nose, optimised for drug efficacy and patient or care-giver use. Today, millions of patients rely on Nemera devices to treat their acute or chronic conditions, such as allergic rhinitis, sinusitis or nasal congestion.

To read the full article: Nasal & Pulmonary Drug Delivery – April issue 119 – Nemera

To read the full magazine: Nasal & Pulmonary Drug Delivery – April issue 119

About the author:

Alain Regard is Technology Product Manager at Nemera. He graduated with a degree in Polymer Engineering and Processing from Ecole Supérieure de Plasturgie (ESP) (Oyonnax, France). After gaining extensive experience in design and development in the automotive industry, he joined Nemera in 2010 as a Product Development Leader. Mr Regard, one of the key technical experts in Nemera’s Insight Innovation Center, leads innovation in the field of ear, nose and throat (ENT) drug delivery. He is in charge of several of Nemera’s own IP projects, as well as working on the development of key areas of expertise.

Audrey Pamila Chandra joined Nemera in 2019 and is the Category Project Manager. She graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Universitas Atma Jaya (Jakarta, Indonesia) and pursued her master’s degree in Strategy & Business Development at Toulouse School of Management (Toulouse, France). Ms Chandra is in charge of providing strategic support for various targeted marketing projects. She also works on diverse content management, along with co-ordination of communication activities.

Pascale Farjas is the Global Category Manager for Nemera’s ENT segment. She joined Nemera in 2011 and holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Applied Sciences (Rouen, France), with an MBA from the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises (Lyon, France). With her technical acumen and over 15 years’ experience in marketing, her role encompasses understanding patients’ needs and regulatory requirements to develop and market packaging solutions that improve the user experience. She is in charge of the market introduction of new product platforms for nasal sprays.

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