Scientists in Ireland have been awarded €8.8m as part of an international project to develop a new treatment for lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and asthma.
The treatment is expected to be in the form of a dry powder inhaler that will deliver an innovative drug into the lungs. The dry powder inhaler is thought to be the first of its kind, and the drug is hoped to effectively break up thick sticky mucus that can cause lung infections.
While there are therapies that can break up this kind of mucus, there are only a limited number of effective ones. In fact, there have been no new versions of these mucolytic therapies in the past 20 years, and only one in the past 50.
The project has a five-year lifetime, and it is expected that clinical trials on humans will be conducted within that timeframe.
It is hoped that as well as being used for treating cystic fibrosis and asthma, the inhaler will also be useful for tackling other lung conditions, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Read the full story from RTE here.
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