Exclusive: UK government partners with Kindeva in £33m inhaler technology revolution post-pandemic
The UK government has joined forces with inhaler manufacturers Kindeva Drug Delivery, in a £33m injection to revolutionise inhaler technology post-pandemic.
The joint investment aims to produce “eco-friendly” inhalers and create over 250 “high-skilled” jobs in the UK after the Covid-19 exposed a window of opportunity.
In the March 2020 dawn of the pandemic, demand for inhalers, which help people with breathing struggles, “substantially increased” according to data from the National Institutes of Health.
The Pharmaceutical Journal said the number of some inhalers prescribed by GPs in England jumped by 63 per cent between February 2020 and March 2020, as people worried how the respiratory disease might affect them.
UK health minister Will Quince said the pandemic “demonstrated the importance of investing in our ability to manufacture medicines in the UK and of upskilling staff in the sector, so we can respond rapidly to health emergencies”.
“This investment in low-carbon inhalers will also help the NHS meet its net zero ambition,” he added.
The propellant gas which patients puff on will cut the global warming potential of the inhalers by over 90 per cent, according to Kindeva, which has manufacturing sites in both the UK and US.
An undisclosed portion of the £33m comes from the Chancellor’s £650m Life Sci for Growth “war-chest” announced this May, which it says aims to “fire up the UK’s life sciences sector and drive forward the government’s priority to grow the economy”.
“Our £94bn life science sector is one of our great industries” said George Freeman MP, minister of state for science, research and innovation. He praised the investment’s potential to enhance the life science sector and drive economic success while promoting public health.
This marks the sixth investment through the government’s Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, which has already invested £416m since 2021.
Kindeva’s global chief commercial officer, David Stevens, said the joint investment provides the manufacturing company with a “springboard” to expand and partner with the largest pharmaceutical firms in the world “with a common goal of safeguarding access to necessary therapies for our patients and also reducing our impact on the planet”.
Commenting on the news, Tarifa Simpson, head of life sciences M&A at Mazars, the global accountancy firm, said: “This is a really interesting partnership, which supports an increasing trend around improving and expanding drug delivery methods.
“We are seeing a growing interest in how life sciences businesses can scale through reformulation and use of novel technology. I would hope that this deal inspires other novel technology firms, and encourages investors to consider supporting similar initiatives,” Simpson added.