Nebulisers are essential kit for getting medicines to the lungs, but their base technology has barely changed in over a hundred years and it鈥檚 becoming a problem for modern medicine delivery.
Glasgow-based medical technology company is working to change that. The company has secured a 拢2 million grant from Scottish Enterprise to accelerate development of its patented nebuliser technology, building on 拢4.7 million in seed funding raised since its spin-out from the University of Glasgow.
The company鈥檚 hand-held nebuliser uses patented acoustic technology to precisely control how aerosol droplets are formed, enabling medicines to be delivered more gently and efficiently to the lungs.
It鈥檚 a significant advance as pharmaceutical pipelines increasingly include biologic, RNA and other advanced therapeutics that are difficult or impossible to deliver using conventional nebulisers.
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A Problem That Affects Millions
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Nebulisers are currently used to deliver medicine to people with conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis.
In Scotland alone, around 720,000 people are currently treated for asthma and roughly 241,000 live with COPD, and managing respiratory conditions costs NHS Scotland in the region of 拢500 million a year.
According to Public Health Scotland, the number of people living with COPD is projected to rise from 134,257 in 2019 to 218,962 by 2044, an increase of around 63%.
That growth is putting healthcare systems under growing pressure to find more effective, patient-friendly treatment options to manage these conditions. Emerging medicines, including biologics and RNA-based therapies, are opening up new possibilities both in respiratory and a broader range of diseases, but their full potential can only be realised if they can be delivered safely and effectively to patients.
Nebu~Flow believes that inhaled delivery technologies will play an important role in making advanced medicines more accessible and says that early studies show its device can successfully deliver a much wider range of medicines than conventional nebulisers.
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From Prototype To Product
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The Scottish Enterprise grant will help Nebu~Flow move from a working prototype to a fully engineered product covering final design work, performance testing and the regulatory approvals needed to bring the device to market in the UK, Europe and the United States.
Andrea Cusack, Chief Executive Officer of Nebu~Flow, said 鈥淭his support from Scottish Enterprise is a huge moment for our team. It allows us to turn years of Scottish research and engineering into a real product that could make a genuine difference to patients鈥� lives.
鈥淥ur goal is simple: to help people get better, more effective medicines in a way that鈥檚 easier, safer and more comfortable for them.鈥�
Nicola Anderson, Director of Scaling Innovation at , pointed to the company鈥檚 journey from its earliest support through to this latest award. 鈥淪cottish Enterprise has nurtured Nebu-Flow鈥檚 ambition to revolutionise respiratory drug delivery over a number of years, from inclusion in our Unlocking Ambition entrepreneurship programme, feasibility grant support, investment in their vision and now with this significant R&D grant award,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he human health sector is a key opportunity area for growth in Scotland. Companies like Nebu-Flow play a vital role in transforming our economy by scaling up, creating high-value jobs and competing internationally. With this progress, there鈥檚 real hope that their work will deliver significant benefits for respiratory patients worldwide.鈥�
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Built On Scottish Research, Aimed At A Global Market
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Nebu-Flow鈥檚 path from university spinout to this stage of funding reflects a broader pattern in Scottish health technology, where research emerging from universities increasingly becomes regulated medical products with international ambitions.
Its Glasgow-based team of engineers, scientists and clinicians pride themselves on their deep respiratory expertise and have already picked up industry recognition, including the CPHI Pharma Start-Up Initiative Award in 2024. The company plans to keep growing its team in Scotland while pursuing partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies internationally.
With Scottish Enterprise support now in place, the company is focused on bringing its technology closer to market. If successful, the technology could expand patient access to advanced medicines delivered closer to home while opening new possibilities for pharmaceutical companies developing the next generation of medicines.
