CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2006--UK-based topical pharmaceutical development specialist MedPharm Ltd today announced at BIO 2006 in Chicago that it’s been awarded a BBSRC* grant to further advance development of a benzodiazepine-based nasal spray for insomnia. The objective is to reduce onset of action to less than 30 minutes through nasal delivery of a reformulated benzodiazepine compared with the 1-2 hours taken by existing tablet and softgel formulations. This grant will be part of a collaboration with OptiNose, a company that is developing a nasal device based on its patented bi-directional delivery technology. The product, which will combine MedPharm’s novel formulation with OptiNose’s device, will enable quick onset of action by direct delivery of the improved formulation to the target sites in nasal cavity. This route of administration will ensure reproducibility and in turn is expected to lead to improved user compliance. Insomnia affects millions of people across the globe, with a worldwide market estimated to be worth $2.2 billion and growing at 10% per annum.
