A pharmaceutical company based in Valencia, California, is working on a novel means of delivering epinephrine during anaphylactic emergencies. Rather than inject the life-saving drug intramuscularly like today’s auto-injectors, the firm envisions a world where epinephrine is inhaled.
MannKind Corporation – which currently markets “Afrezza”, an inhalable form of insulin for diabetics pictured above – is developing a product that would dispose of the needle entirely and by doing so remove the one aspect of today’s auto-injectors that instills fear in children and parents alike.
The company, whose shares dropped precipitously after disappointing first-year sales of Afrezza, is hoping to revive its fortunes by applying its expertise and intellectual property to spur a revolution in the delivery of epinephrine.
Many questions remain about the viability of inhaled epinephrine, such as whether a device can deliver a large enough dose to be effective and how a person suffering respiratory distress (a classic symptom of anaphylaxis) can draw enough breath to inhale the drug.
We will reach out to the company for more details of this product and follow up here as the development and approval process progresses.
This seems to be very awesome! However, if your throat is closing up how would you inhale?