ICAP Ocean Tomo Announces the Auction of an Improved Compact, Portable Nebulizer Developed and Patented by Tidal Air

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Mar 21, 2011, 03:00 ET

CHICAGO, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ICAP Ocean Tomo will auction a patent portfolio disclosing an improved portable medicinal nebulizer on March 31st at the ICAP Ocean Tomo Spring 2011 Live IP Auction in New York. The technology of this patent portfolio provides improvements to existing nebulizer devices.

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Recent technological advancements have triggered the use of nebulizers for pulmonary drug delivery to treat several broad-based non-respiratory conditions – such as pain, migraine, anxiety, depression, and diabetes. The effectiveness of nebulizing devices depends on the efficiency of drug penetration, which depends on the amount and size of the drug droplets formed by these devices. At present, conventional nebulizers are inefficient in creating specific sized droplets of medicinal agents due to inadequate control of pressure conditions and drug flow. They fail to offer properly regulated medicinal dosage by controlling particulate distribution and deviation within the respirable range. Furthermore, most nebulizers in the market today are not built on open electronic platform. In doing so, this device can support a user interface to display records of the drug dosage data allowing for facilitation of real-time monitoring of drug delivery as well as historical and compliance data. This open architecture is the scaffolding required to bridge the gap between therapeutic and diagnostic devices.

Key Characteristics & Benefits

The patent discloses the following:

A compact and light-weight medicinal nebulizer designed to deliver traditional respiratory medicines as well as a range of non-respiratory drugs, nutraceuticals and other agents via the pulmonary route in a controlled manner.
Features include selective atomization, electronic recording capabilities and overall delivery efficiency.
This system varies from other contemporary nebulization delivery systems by reducing size and weight down to a portable level, including on-board power to eliminate the need to plug the system into an outlet.
It offers further technical advantages: 1.) by attaching the drug dispensing components to an earpiece it allows hands free delivery of the treatment, 2.) it provides selective atomization to control medication penetration, 3.) it includes medical compliance and open architecture that can support spirometry or other diagnostic controls.
The device comprises a disposable medicine chamber integrated with a drug dispenser for storing or releasing medicine dosage and a compressed gas cartridge for combining the pressurized gas (e.g. oxygen, or other therapeutic medical gas) with the medicine in a controlled manner to form droplets of appropriate sizes.
The medicine chamber stores the prescribed drug whose amount can be measured precisely, thereby providing a convenient way to regulate the drug dosage to the patient.
The chamber is detachable and can be replaced by other medicine chambers containing different medicines, enabling administration of different drugs using the same device. In addition non descript medicine chambers can be used to create blind and double blind protocol for clinical testing.
Gas pressure can be monitored and measured accurately, providing precise control on droplet size and drug flow. This improves the penetration efficiency and hence the effectiveness of the drug.
The device also provides a programmable user interface that enables a doctor to remotely monitor the drug dosage, change dosages and to record or review the effects of drug administration in real-time when linked with a diagnostic device
Furthermore, the device can be easily connected to other electronic devices, such as cellular phones and computers, via computer networks (e.g., the Internet), providing various business opportunities in remote healthcare monitoring, clinical research automated data collection, emergency medical services.

The attractiveness of using a nebulizer for pulmonary delivery for non-respiratory drugs relies on the lung's natural ability to transfer molecules into the bloodstream. This leads to rapid onset of action, good bioavailability and avoidance of first pass metabolism. The electronically controlled platform allows for integration of negative pressure monitoring that combined with timing of inhalation can provide for adaptive aerosol delivery. That is, delivery specific to a patience breath rate. This can also be used for patient feedback via audio (ear piece) or video (monitor screen) for assisting with user breath training.

Market Potential

Currently, pulmonary delivery trails only oral delivery as the most common form of drug delivery. Therapeutic applications of pulmonary delivery will continue to grow, accelerating significant expansion in the multi-billion dollar pulmonary drug delivery market.

The global market for pulmonary drug delivery techniques was estimated to be $19.1 billion in 2010.(1)
This lot should be of interest to medical equipment manufacturers and healthcare service providers, and in particular, any pharma, drug delivery or device company looking to solidify their leadership position or seeking to establish a strong competitive position in the pulmonary delivery space.

To learn more about the assets available for sale in this portfolio:

Contact Dean Becker of ICAP Ocean Tomo at [email protected]

About ICAP Ocean Tomo LLC

ICAP Ocean Tomo is the intellectual property brokerage division of ICAP and the world's premier patent auction firm.

About ICAP

ICAP is the world's premier interdealer broker and provider of post trade services. The Group matches buyers and sellers in the wholesale markets in interest rates, credit, commodities, foreign exchange, emerging markets, equities and equity derivatives through voice and electronic networks. ICAP plc was added to the FTSE 100 Index on 30 June 2006. For more information go to www.icap.com.

(1) http://www.health-informant.com/article1779.html

SOURCE ICAP Ocean Tomo