Vectura Partners With Monash University to Support Development of Inhaled Oxytocin to Prevent Postpartum Haemorrhage

Vectura Group plc recently announced it has signed an agreement with Monash University’s Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) to develop inhaled oxytocin delivered via a dry powder inhaler to prevent postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) in childbirth. An inhaled formulation of oxytocin, currently administered via injection, is expected to provide important advantages, including ease of use, rapid onset of action and safe storage outside of the cold chain. Vectura will receive undisclosed revenues on a fee-for-service basis.

Leveraging 20 years of experience in the formulation of inhaled products, Vectura will work with MIPS to optimize the product and advance to commercialization. Vectura will support the development of a single-use device/formulation combination for evaluation in Phase 1, and then expedite technical transfer to a commercial manufacturer to advance to Phase 3 and commercial launch.

Will Downie, Chief Executive Officer of Vectura, commented “Reformulation of oxytocin to an inhaled dry powder has many advantages for this drug and application. It will be easy to administer for patients, and, being inhaled, will have a rapid onset of action. Working with Monash University and its partners, we look forward to providing Vectura’s deep expertise in this space to address this important global health issue, potentially preventing thousands of deaths each year.”

Professor Michelle McIntosh, Project Lead at MIPS, added “Post-partum haemorrhage is a significant and challenging global health issue, so we are very excited to be working with Vectura on a low cost, heat stable, and non-invasive approach to deliver oxytocin, overcoming existing limitations of current injection products.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that oxytocin is administered to every woman after birth to prevent PPH, and currently the only option for administration is via injection. The WHO suggests there are approximately 60,000 deaths each year due to PPH, with more than 99% of these occurring in the poorest and hottest countries in the world, where injections are impracticable due to a lack of cold chain distribution, and safe, sterile environments, as well as trained clinicians to administer the drug.

Vectura is a provider of innovative inhaled drug delivery services that enable partners to bring their medicines to patients. With differentiated proprietary technology and pharmaceutical development expertise, Vectura is one of the few companies globally with the device, formulation and development capabilities to deliver a broad range of complex inhaled therapies.

Vectura has eleven key inhaled and eleven non-inhaled products marketed by partners with global royalty streams, and a diverse partnered portfolio of drugs in clinical development. Our partners include Hikma, Novartis, Sandoz (a division of Novartis AG), Mundipharma, Kyorin, GSK, Bayer, Chiesi, Almirall, and Tianjin KingYork. For more information, visit www.vectura.com.

MIPS has formed an alliance with a number of industry partners, including Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, and GSK, as well as philanthropic organisations such as the McCall MacBain Foundation, to develop a novel, temperature-stable formulation of oxytocin.

The 2020 QS World University Rankings by Subject ranked Monash University number two in the world for Pharmacy and Pharmacology. The University has also retained a long-held position as Australia’s and the Asia-Pacific’s number one University for Pharmacy and Pharmacology, and since the subject rankings were introduced in 2011 has consistently ranked in the most elite group of Pharmacy and Pharmacology programs worldwide with an average top ten ranking. For more information, visit https://www.monash.edu/pharm/research/pharmaceutical-sciences.