Ultrasound is used as a tool in many areas of medicine such as in diverse fields such as medical imaging, physiotherapy and HIFU (high intensity US used to kill cancer cells). At Prosonix high intensity ultrasonic technologies - much lower frequencies than in medical foetal scanning or physiotherapy for example - is used to make improved respiratory and oral drug products. This is done by applying state-of-the-art ultrasound processing to the active ingredients that make up marketed and new medicines.

For many drug particles the usual method of manufacture involves taking large crystals and physically breaking them into smaller drug particles. Prosonix technologies allow manufacture of particles that are engineered to the right size from  the molecules of the drug substance in question.

For oral delivery Prosonix can manufacture the drug ingredients with higher purity, increased stability and improved performance when being formulated as tablets of capsules. For newer medicines, whilst well-designed to alleviate illness and disease symptoms, they can be very insoluble in water. 

In many instances it is appropriate to make the drug particles as small as possible in order to improve the rate at which they can dissolve in the stomach and thereby do what they were designed to do. This can also apply to certain injectable drugs where the drug needs to dissolve in the bloodstream. If the particles are not sufficiently small the drug particles may not dissolve very well and will be excreted. Prosonix technologies can be used to make drug nanoparticles for formulation in water based suspensions for oral or injection delivery.

For those who suffer from asthma, COPD and lung infection (e.g. cystic fibrosis) small particles for inhaled medicines can be made by Prosonix technologies. In order to reach the right place in the upper (for asthma, COPD) or lower (antibiotics for example) airways of the lung the particles must be around 1 -5 micron sized . It is important that for asthma sufferers the particles are prepared so that when released from the inhaler they arrive into the lung and don't simply fall on to the tongue and then swallowed. Of course they must get out of the inhaler in the first place. That is where Prosonix delivers improvement in asthma inhaler performance and give consistent relief to the patient. For asthma the ‘engineered' bronchodilators and steroids for dramatically alleviating the problems caused by asthma and COPD - are ground-breaking and are set to revolutionise treatment for these medical problems.

These two drugs may complement (mutual synergy) each other in the lung - the bronchodilator opens the airways and the steroid reduces inflammation. For example many asthma and COPD sufferers use Seretide / Advair from GSK and Symbicort from AstraZeneca. However it is important that the 2 medicines arrive in the lung together to have maximum effects. Unlike the standard technique of high shear blending Prosonix technologies ensure that the 2 components arrive together because the have been prepared together in combination particles and chaperone each other to the site of action.

Prosonix technologies will deliver better oral and respiratory medicines now and in the future.