Hak-Kim Chan
Hak-Kim Chan Australian researchers have been awarded $AU1 million ($US687,000) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop improved testing methods for dry powder inhalers. The project will enable the more effective development of inhalers, particularly generic inhaler devices, in the hope of increasing access to affordable inhalers for asthma sufferers in the US and worldwide. The researchers, led by the University of Sydney's Associate Professor Agisilaos Kourmatzis, from the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering , and Professor Hak-Kim Chan, who leads the Advanced Drug Delivery Group at the Sydney Pharmacy School , are developing modern methods to assess the performance of asthma inhalers. According to the World Health Organization , asthma affects 262 million people worldwide, with under-diagnosis, under-treatment and lack of access to inhalers a challenge in many parts of the world. "This is certainly the case in the US, where inhalers are expensive, with the first generic dry powder inhaler only being approved for use in 2019," said Associate Professor Kourmatzis, who has asthma and used a dry powder inhaler for many years. In 2015, the overall estimated cost of asthma in Australia was approximately $28 billion. "Fortunately, in Australia, dry powder inhalers are subsidised through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, but they are still expensive to manufacture and purchase, and the devices suffer from substantial inefficiency, presenting a significant cost burden to our health system," he said.
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