BioInhale: Developing biopharmaceutical tools for understanding drug delivery across the complexity of the epithelial lung interface
Facts
- Contact person:
- Sabrina Valetti
- Financer:
-
- KK-stiftelsen
- Responsible at MaU:
- Sabrina Valetti
- Project members at MaU:
- Collaborators :
-
- Bioneer
- Emmace Consulting
- Magle ChemoSwed
- MatTek
- Truly Labs
- Inhalation Sciences
- Time frame:
- 01 December 2026 - 30 November 2029
- Faculty/department:
- Research environment :
- Research subject:
-
- Biomedical Laboratory Science/Technology
- Cell Molecular Biology
- Physical Chemistry
- Biopharmaceutics
- Pharmaceutical Technology
Project description
This project seeks to advance inhalation drug delivery by uncovering how drug molecules - from small to large - interact with the lung epithelium across aerosolization, dissolution, and clearance, ultimately revealing how regional lung differences shape drug disposition. Pulmonary drug delivery, or inhalation therapy, is increasingly explored for the treatment management of diverse diseases due to its potential to enhance safety, target specificity, and pharmacokinetic performance compared to conventional delivery systems.
However, human airways are intricate, heterogeneous structures that act as a barrier between the body’s internal and external environments, facilitating air exchange and performing essential functions such as humidification, mucociliary clearance and immune signaling. Therefore, drug delivery to the lungs is challenging due to the complex geometry and pronounced regional differences in the respiratory tract physiology. In this context, this project aims to improve knowledge on the molecular processes involved in the disposition of inhaled drugs.
The Synergy core question is to broaden therapeutic strategies in inhalation drug delivery by investigating the impact of drug molecules, ranging from small to large, at the lung epithelium. This includes studying the three distinct stages of the inhalation process, namely aerosolization and deposition, dissolution and permeation, and clearance, to elucidate how regional differences within the lung impact all these processes. The project will be conducted in co-production with six industrials partners (Emmace Consulting, Bioneer, Mattek, Inhalation Science, Truly Labs, Magle ChemoSwed) who had strong scientific interest in this field. Strategic collaboration with big pharma companies, nearby universities and large-scale facilities will offer significant scientific and business assets.