Propeller Health has teamed up with Medical International Research (MIR), an Italian device manufacturer, to add spirometers and spirometry data to Propeller’s platform as part of a licensing deal, according to a Propeller news release. The deal expands Propeller’s customer base and is the latest in a series of developments for the company, which closed a Series C round this fall to scale the business.
Spirometers are designed to test a patient’s lung function. Although they are used for congestive obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, they are also used for patients with pneumonia and cystic fibrosis, among other conditions.
Propeller Health developed a platform cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in which its sensors are attached to inhalers to record when patients take their asthma or COPD medication. It’s the kind of data that pharma companies and providers seek to quantify and improve medication adherence, predict exacerbations and to reduce the frequency of symptoms in asthma and COPD patients. Last month, Propeller received its eighth U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance. This time, the company secured clearance to sell its therapy platform with a newly developed sensor that works with GlaxoSmithKline’s Ellipta inhaler. The approval came less than one year after Propeller announced a development pact with GSK.
Propeller also gained a CE Mark in Europe and a green light from regulator Health Canada to sell the platform and sensor for Ellipta, which is a next-generation, dry-powder inhaler to treat respiratory conditions.
“We’re excited to partner with MIR to introduce their connected spirometers to participants in Propeller,” said Propeller Health CEO David Van in the news release. “Periodic assessment can be helpful in monitoring whether treatment is truly controlling symptoms and improving quality of life. These next-generation, mobile spirometers make it possible for patients to better understand their lung function at home and in the community.”
Spirometry will be available in all countries in which Propeller operates, for both commercial programs and clinical trials, a spokeswoman said in an email. Although Propeller’s products are currently available commercially in the U.S., the business has several clinical studies that are ongoing, or soon to be initiated, in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, she added.
Although Propeller has used spirometry in a few research programs in the past few years, this technology will be available to the company’s customers, researchers, and patients to support patients with asthma and/or COPD.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
MIR is a device company with global reach. The business has been around for more than 20 years and has a presence in 93 countries, including a U.S. office is in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Propeller is headquartered in the same state with offices in Madison. The Italian company also leverages its technology to support clinical trials of medication, an area of interest for Propeller as well.
At the time of the Propeller’s Series C announcement, Van Sickle said that in the next six to 12 months his company plans to expand commercial operations in the U.S. and abroad.
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