Kindeva Commits to Sustainable Inhaler Production with New Manufacturing Investment

  • Leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) announces road map to bring the first two inhalers using lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) propellant gases to market by 2025, subject to regulatory approvals
  • Two new propellant gases in active development, HFA-152a and HFO-1234ze, have respectively c.90% and c.99.9% lower climate impact than current alternatives[1]

Loughborough, UK, and Saint Paul, MN, US—Kindeva Drug Delivery L.P. (Kindeva) has announced a long-term commitment to manufacture the next generation of pressurized metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) products using lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) propellants. Kindeva’s aerosol scientists have been working with these new propellants for some time and are making good progress towards transitioning several products.

As the next step on this journey, Kindeva will install a new manufacturing line capable of filling inhalers with either HFA-152a or HFO-1234ze, supported by appropriate R&D facilities. These propellant gasses have respectively 90% and 99.9% lower GWP than P134a, the greenest propellant used in the industry currently. This is the first step in a series of equipment installations and facility conversions reflecting Kindeva’s global leadership in inhalation product development and manufacturing.

Kindeva intends to install this new manufacturing line by the end of 2022. The company is working closely with its partners to plan for the commercialization of a range of existing and new pMDI products containing the new low GWP propellants, and currently has a number of active R&D programs carrying out early-stage development work. Kindeva’s goal is for the first two pMDI products using these gases to reach the market by 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

Aaron Mann, Kindeva’s CEO said: “We believe that once industry leaders like Kindeva enter this space and make transitioning products a reality, procurement and prescribing policy will rapidly move in favor of new greener pMDIs. Customers and health systems in the UK, EU and USA are becoming increasingly focused on decarbonization and the transition to Net Zero, and Kindeva is well placed to service their needs. There is simply no substitute for our experience in formulating and commercializing pMDIs and we are looking forward to making a major contribution to decarbonizing the global inhaler market.”

“We are therefore pleased that several key clients are already working with Kindeva on reformulating their existing products using low GWP propellants and are choosing to select the new propellants for future products, too. We will lead this transition to next-generation green propellants, just as we led the move from CFC to HFA propellants in the 1990s by launching the first CFC-free pMDI globally.”

Today’s announcements, timed to coincide with the closing day of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, mark the next chapter in Kindeva’s leadership in driving sustainable innovation in pMDIs and, more broadly, complex drug and combination products. As a leading global CDMO, Kindeva’s track record stretches back more than 65 years to the development of the first-ever pMDI. Kindeva also led the industry’s transition from CFC- to HFA-based inhalers in the 1990s, developing the world’s first CFC-free pMDI and the world’s first CFC-free nasal pMDI.

About Kindeva Drug Delivery

Headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Kindeva Drug Delivery is a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) in the pharmaceutical industry. Kindeva provides unique technologies and quality services to its customers, ranging from formulation and product development to commercial manufacturing. Kindeva focuses on complex drug programs, and its current offering spans inhalation drug delivery, transdermal drug delivery, microstructured transdermal systems (microsystems), and connected drug delivery. Kindeva employs approximately 1,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.kindevadd.com.

[1] P134a, the most commonly used propellant in pMDIs today, has a GWP of 1430. R152a has a GWP of 124 while R1234ze(E) has a GWP of <1.