Nob Hill Therapeutics
Transforming Drug Delivery for Pulmonary Conditions

Inhalation therapies, despite their prevalence in treating pulmonary diseases and respiratory-related conditions, have numerous setbacks, such as the deposition of aerosolized particles in the upper airways, long dosing times, or the lack of coordination between the device activation and inhalation due to poor patient training/ technique. These issues, combined with today’s pandemic-driven emphasis on effectively treating respiratory diseases, are leading the inhalation therapy arena to seek newer ways to mitigate their inefficiencies. New Mexico-based Nob Hill Therapeutics (NHT) is addressing this need with its patented inhalation drug delivery platform, DryNeb.



The platform combines the best attributes of dry powder inhalers (DPIs) and liquid nebulizers to achieve reproducible delivery of the desired drug concentrations to the target site without the need for any special inhalation maneuver. DryNeb eliminates the need for patients to exert energy in de-aggregating the powder and making more of the powder respirable—a major challenge of DPI therapies. In addition, the drug delivery platform also overcomes the drawbacks of liquid nebulizerbased inhalers by significantly reducing the dosage times and ensuring high drug concentrations can reach the target sites in the lungs. DryNeb is also a rechargeable, handheld, and portable inhalation drug delivery platform, capable of replacing the complexity and rigidity of conventional inhalers. “These attributes make DryNeb easy-to-use for patients with reduced lung function and minimizes the need for a hospital setting to deliver the drug,” says Paul Atkins, Ph.D., Executive Chairman at NHT.

The technological success of this revolutionary inhalation drug delivery platform can be attributed to Hugh Smyth, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of NHT. “Back in 2017, Smyth was conducting pioneering research for developing simple yet flexible inhalation-based therapies,” adds Yun Li, CEO of NHT. Subsequently, Smyth’s vision to capitalize on the unmet need for effective inhalers came in the form of DryNeb, which was backed by the technology incubator group, VIC Technology Venture Development. “With the initial seed funding offered by VIC, we were able to focus on the commercialization of the DryNeb platform while also expanding its application horizons for the treatment of various pulmonary conditions,” states Smyth.

With respect to DryNeb’s applicability, today, the company has successfully achieved several key milestones in the early assessment of an inhaled anti-fungal agent. It is now seeking funding to commence the clinical development program of this important therapeutic. In addition, in-vitro evaluations are also underway for DryNeb in the treatment of complex conditions, such as cystic fibrosis and lung cancer. “With the imminent release of these DryNeb-based therapies, NHT wants to eliminate inhalation therapy-driven hospital visits and facilitate simple, speedy, and on-the-go-medication for respiratory disorders and other conditions,” explains Matt Reed, Chief Scientific Officer of NHT.

Looking ahead, NHT also aims to boost DryNeb’s awareness in the inhalation medicine space and the pharmaceutical industry at large by attending upcoming business conferences geared toward clinical applications of inhalation therapy. The company will be presenting data at the upcoming Respiratory Drug Delivery meeting (RDD 2022). Later in the year, NHT has been invited as a presenter for an inhalation drug delivery conference in October. They hope this will help attract more investors and potential partners further enhancing the creation of transformative DryNeb applications. NHT’s planned engagements with the FDA will lead to delivering a data package for the first-of-itskind, DryNeb-based inhalation device by the end of 2022.