AsmairŪ pMDI evaluated very positively
In September 2007 the European Respiratory Society (ERS) held its annual conference in Stockholm. Bang & Olufsen Medicom, an innovative provider of drug delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, presented its pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) Asmair® and the breath actuated inhaler (BAI) Insulair®. Health professionals attending the conference were given a short introduction to both devices, and afterwards their opinion was documented.
Positive results of the survey
The pilot study included 82 respondents based on each respondent receiving a detailed instruction of how Asmair® and Insulair® work. They were asked to evaluate the two devices with regards to Design, Ease of use and Size on a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is very poor and 5 is excellent. Asmair® received an average score of 4,1 on design, 4,0 on size and 4,2 on ease of use. Insulair® received an average score of 4,3 on design, 3,4 on size and 4,5 on ease of use.
Outstanding features of Asmair®
The overall great level of satisfaction with Asmair® on all parametres approves of the health care professionals' great interest in the device. Jan Andersson, senior business development manager at Bang & Olufsen Medicom and responsible for the inhalation platform, comments: “We are very pleased with the positive feedback on this pilot study. Indeed, this confirms the value of the features incorporated in the inhaler, especially the single increment dose counter, the reduced force needed to fire a dose, the intuitive design and small size. We strongly believe the combination of these user friendly features will improve patient compliance.”
Asmair® improving the effectiveness of a treatment
An increasing number of asthma patients experience difficulties in controlling their disease, which is among other things shown in the rising mortality rates among these patients. The use of combination inhalers and instructive patient education programmes are clearly not enough to improve the treatment efficacy and the users every day life. The currently available inhalation devices leave room for vast improvements in ease of use and safety for the user*. Asmair® has been developed to overcome these problems and help asthma patients obtain improved compliance, resulting in a more effective treatment and reduced health costs.
About Asmair®
Asmair® is a final stage prototype inhaler representing a new generation of pMDIs with a fully integrated dose counter, which prevents under- and overcounting, thus helping patients remain in control of their dosage. With the counter exactly monitoring remaining amount of doses, the patients are in better control and can feel confident in their medication. The ~50% reduction in force to fire a dose compared to other inhalers improves the ease of use - especially for the elderly and children*.
Breath Actuation – the next step to improve patient compliance
The health professionals also expressed a clear view of increased treatment effectiveness using a BAI’s compared to a standard actuator. The respondents demonstrated great willingness to prescribe this product in favour of other inhalers even at a slightly increased cost. The almost total acceptance of the BAI technology supports Bang & Olufsen Medicom’s initiative of developping the BAI Insulair®.
About Bang & Olufsen Medicom
Bang & Olufsen Medicom has been active in the inhalation development range for more than 10 years. The company has developed several pMDI devices that can be used for asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. We offer a range of pMDI both breath-actuated as well as press and breathe solutions. The products share a common dose counting platform and are all designed to be easy-to-use and discrete in their appearance. In addition, to the pMDI solutions, Bang & Olufsen Medicom is also involved in dry powder inhalers and compliance monitoring devices.
* Christensen, A.: Empowering Patients to Take Control of Their Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Before it Takes Control of Them. Business Briefing: US Respiratory are 2006, Touchbriefings, p. 30.