Koura to supply ground breaking low-carbon footprint medical propellant to Chiesi Farmaceutici for inhalation product development and clinical trials

Landmark multi-million-pound sterling commercial agreement will advance efforts to bring Zephex®152a from the laboratory to the patient

Runcorn (United Kingdom) December 2019 – Koura, the leading medical propellant manufacturer (previously known as Mexichem Fluor), has today announced a commercial agreement to supply the new low carbon footprint medical propellant Zephex®152a to Chiesi Farmaceutici for inhalation product development and clinical trials.

“This agreement is an important milestone in the story of Zephex®152a” says Sameer Bharadwaj, President of Koura.  He continues, “Koura is a pioneer in the development of next generation propellants, leading the industry forward, finding the balance between product efficacy and environmental stewardship. Zephex®152a is that next step forward and it’s one which is aligned with our purpose of advancing life around the world and has great potential for the whole industry.”

Zephex® 152a is a new, sustainable medical propellant that has been under development by Koura for several years for use in metered dose inhalers (MDIs) for treatment of respiratory disorders such as asthma and COPD. MDI products using Zephex® 152a will bring about a greater than 90 percent reduction in inhaler carbon footprints compared to current MDIs and results in the environmental impact of MDIs being as low as other ‘green’ inhaler technologies such as dry powder inhaler (DPIs).

This announcement is part of a program to bring Zephex®152a from the laboratory to the patient, a process that requires partnerships between different parts of the medical supply chain.  Koura have already committed to a multimillion-pound investment into a new laboratory facility based at their new medical division HQ at Thornton Science Park, Chester, UK.  The facility will be the first in the world to offer dedicated pharmaceutical grade laboratories specialising in the new low-carbon footprint medical propellant Zephex® 152a and will help facilitate the commercial development of 152a-based inhaled medicines.

About Koura

Koura (formerly Mexichem Fluor) is a global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of fluoroproducts that play a fundamental role in enhancing everyday lives. Part of the Orbia community of companies, working together to tackle some of the world’s most complex challenges, Koura is a leading provider of innovative products and solutions across multiple sectors including petrochemical, construction, transportation and telecom. Koura’s products are used in a vast range of applications including the construction of towns and cities, keeping homes cool, food fresh and even in the treatment of respiratory conditions, providing the medical propellant used in 80% of the world’s Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs). Headquartered in Boston, Koura has commercial activities in across the globe, with operations in Runcorn, UK, Mexico, St Gabriel, USA, Toronto, Mumbai, Mihara & Tokyo, Japan.

About Orbia

Orbia (BMV: ORBIA is a community of companies bound together by a shared purpose: to advance life around the world. Orbia’s business groups have a collective focus on insuring food security, reducing water scarcity, reinventing the future of cities and homes, connecting communities to data infrastructure, and expanding access to health and wellness with advanced materials. The business groups include Precision Agriculture, Building and Infrastructure, Fluor, Polymer Solutions, and Data Communications, which collectively pursue human centric solutions to global challenges. A global leader in specialty products and innovative solutions across multiple sectors of industry and commerce, from agriculture and infrastructure to telecommunications, healthcare and more, Orbia has commercial activities in more than 100 countries and operations in 41, with global headquarters in Mexico City, Boston, Amsterdam, and Tel Aviv.

About Chiesi Group

Based in Parma, Italy, Chiesi Farmaceutici is an international research-focussed Healthcare Group, with over 80 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, and with presence in 28 countries. Chiesi researches, develops and markets innovative drugs in the respiratory therapeutics, specialist medicine and rare disease areas. Its R&D organisation is headquartered in Parma (Italy), and integrated with 4 other key R&D groups in France, the USA, the UK and Sweden to advance Chiesi’s pre-clinical, clinical and registration programmes. Chiesi employs over 5,600 people. Chiesi Group is a certified Benefit corporation. Chiesi Limited is the UK affiliate, for more information please visit www.chiesi.uk.com.

References

1. European Lung Foundation – ELF. Adult asthma. [online] Available at: https://www.europeanlung.org/en/lungdisease-and-information/lung-diseases/adult-asthma Last accessed September 2019.
2. https://www.who.int/health-topics/chronic-respiratory-diseases#tab=tab_1