Delivering medicine safely and effectively via the nose: Per Gisle Djupesland named European Inventor Award 2021 finalist
- Norwegian inventor nominated for European Patent Office (EPO) prize for nasal delivery system
- Invention uses the patient's own exhaled breath to send medication through the nose, improving delivery accuracy and safety
- Delivery system offers relief for millions of migraine and chronic rhinosinusitis patients, and could help treat other conditions and a range of respiratory viruses
Munich, 4 May 2021 - The European Patent Office (EPO) announces that Norwegian doctor Per Gisle Djupesland has been nominated as a finalist in the "Industry" category of the European Inventor Award 2021 for his nasal delivery device. Djupesland's invention improves the effectiveness and safety of administering medication via the nose, compared with conventional nasal spray pumps, by using the patient's own breathing as part of the delivery process. As a result, the system is able to carry drug particles to target sites in the nose and sinuses, as well as to reduce the risk of molecules reaching the lungs.
The device has been developed and commercialised via Djupesland's company Optinose AS since 2000. It is currently used to deliver a medication to treat migraine headaches and nasal polyps, and the company has begun clinical trials for the treatment of chronic sinusitis, with additional potential therapeutic uses being explored.
"Djupesland has developed a solution that improves treatment and reduces risks for patients," says EPO President António Campinos, announcing the European Inventor Award 2021 finalists. "His patent portfolio helped found a company and grow it to be exchange listed, highlighting the value of patents at each stage in the business life cycle."
The winners of the 2021 edition of the EPO's annual innovation prize will be announced at a ceremony starting at 19:00 CEST on 17 June which has this year been reimagined as a digital event for a global audience.
Using a patient's airflow to deliver medication
While working as an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist at University Hospital Oslo, Djupesland noted that nasal spray pumps were often not as effective as they should be. Traditional spray pumps could not always reach the target areas for such diseases in the nose and sinuses. "As an ENT surgeon I was frustrated with conventional spray pumps, which deposit medicines mainly in the anterior part of the nose, with limited delivery to target sites higher and deeper in the nose," he explains.
Djupesland began thinking about how drug delivery could be improved, which led him to the idea of using the patient's own exhaled breath to deliver medicine. This was inspired, in part, by his PhD in nasal aerodynamics, during which he studied the development of the nasal airway in infants and the potential role of nasal obstruction in Sudden Infant Death syndrome.
The Optinose system that he developed is simple to use. The patient inserts the device's nosepiece into one nostril, takes a deep breath, closes their lips around the mouthpiece and exhales (similarly to inflating a balloon). The patient's own exhaled breath is utilised to comfortably carry drug particles high and deep to target sites in the nose and sinuses before the air escapes through the other nostril. The device was specifically designed to be patient-friendly - 98% of respondents in clinical trials stated the device was easy to use.
The importance of filing a patent application was clear to Djupesland from the beginning. Clinical trials for pharmaceutical products can take years, and securing the necessary funding from investors would never have been possible without first filing patent applications. Djupesland secured his first European patent in 2004; since then, he has filed other patent applications for additional inventions covering the delivery of medication in either particle or liquid form, and for single- and multi-dose variants.
Djupesland co-founded Optinose AS in Norway with his wife, Helena, in 2000 to commercialise the system. He credits his wife, who holds a law degree and an MBA and was CEO of Optinose for the first decade, for providing essential support and advice from the very beginning. He also identifies filing patent applications early as a critical ingredient in their success. "Good patents are also essential to attract investors and to build a business," Djupesland notes. Their business concept was to take good and safe generic drugs, and to make them more effective through his patented delivery system. The delivery system and medication are sold together as one pharmaceutical product.
New treatment possibilities
Today, Optinose AS is a subsidiary of OptiNose, Inc. which is a NASDAQ-listed company that employs more than 200 staff. As the US represents over 40% of the global pharmaceutical market, Optinose launched a US subsidiary in 2010, through which its migraine medication delivery system has been successfully developed and out-licensed for commercialisation. Today Djupesland is CSO of the Norwegian subsidiary, with responsibility for device discovery and early development efforts. He also remains a part-time ENT consultant.
The company is focused on serving the needs of patients cared for by ENT and allergy specialists. Djupesland's invention opens up possibilities for targeting brain conditions and the company has an active license program that enables development of treatments with its system by other organizations. Only a few very important molecules can pass the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and the nose is the only place in the body that allows direct contact between the brain and the atmosphere.
In June 2020, Optinose announced it was developing a nasal antiseptic to treat both the symptoms and transmission of COVID-19. The antiseptic has proved successful in eliminating the SARS-CoV-2 virus (which causes COVID-19) during in vitro analyses. If clinical trials confirm its potential, the solution could be used to treat and reduce the transmission of a wide range of respiratory viruses.
With the global market for global nasal drug delivery technology valued at EUR 37.0 billion in 2017 and projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 6.5% between 2019 and 2025, the company is well-placed to continue to explore how Djupesland's invention can improve the delivery of medication to patients, ensuring they receive targeted and safe treatment.
Notes to the editor
About the
inventor
Djupesland earned
his doctorate in medicine from the University of Oslo, Norway, in 1982. He
obtained a PhD in nasal aerodynamics from the University of Oslo in 1999. He is
an otolaryngologist (ENT) with a specialisation in rhinology, and has more than
25 years of clinical experience. He served as an ear, nose and throat
specialist and research fellow at University Hospital Oslo from 1996-2000.
Djupesland also worked as a Clinical Research Fellow at the Hospital for Sick
Children and Toronto General in Toronto, Canada, primarily studying the role of
nitric oxide in the upper airways. Dr Djupesland has authored more than 60 peer
reviewed articles in international medical journals and has lectured at
numerous international scientific conferences. He is Chief Scientific Officer
of OptiNose AS, and has primary responsibility for device discovery and early
development efforts.
Dr Djupesland holds 26 European granted patents, including EP2340865 granted in 2016 for nasal delivery devices for bi-directional delivery.
About the European Inventor Award
The European Inventor Award is one of Europe's most prestigious innovation prizes. Launched by the
EPO in 2006, it honours individual inventors and teams of inventors whose
pioneering inventions provide answers to some of the biggest challenges of our
times. The finalists and winners are selected by an independent jury consisting of international authorities from the fields of business,
politics, science, academia and research who examine the proposals for their
contribution towards technical progress, social development, economic
prosperity and job creation in Europe. The Award is conferred in five
categories (Industry, Research, SMEs, Non-EPO countries and Lifetime
achievement). In addition, the public selects the winner of the Popular Prize from among the 15 finalists through online voting.
About the EPO
With 6 400 staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered
in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was
founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe.
Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to
obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 44 countries, covering a market
of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority
in patent information and patent searching.
Media contacts European Patent Office
Luis Berenguer Giménez
Principal Director Communication, Spokesperson
Tel.: +49 89 2399 1203