Koura opens HFA 152a medical propellant production facility

Koura has opened a new HFA 152a production facility at its Runcorn site in the UK. Chiesi signed a commercial agreement to use the new low carbon footprint medical propellant, for inhalation product development and clinical trials, in 2019.

The opening of this facility was conducted by Alessandro Chiesi, CCO at Chiesi, and Gregg Smith, president at Koura. It marks a key milestone in delivering an environmentally-friendly medical propellant, HFA 152a, which has a low GWP. This new facility should see commercial-scale HFA 152a availability in the market by mid-2022, allowing pharmaceutical companies to meet 2025/2026 commercial product timeframes.

Chiesi Group plans to develop the pMDI inhalers for patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by the end of 2025. The innovation from Koura should allow Chiesi to reduce its scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions per unit of inhaled products sold by 80% by 2030 and 90% by 2035 compared to 2019.

Gregg Smith, Koura president, said: “This is a significant step forward in bringing our sustainable, greener medical propellant Zephex 152a to the market. The opening of this facility is part of a series of strategic investments that will deliver secure supply of low GWP propellant to meet regulatory and commercial needs of our customers ahead of low GWP pMDI launches expected during 2025.

“2022 is an exciting year for HFA 152a and the pMDI market, with a number of key milestones being met.”

Alessandro Chiesi added: “Patients should not have to consider the burden of environmental responsibility when choosing treatment options that impact their health. We are proud to supply both pMDI and DPI inhalers and to have taken decisive and ambitious action to ensure patients can continue to access the inhaler options that best suit their needs, whilst innovating to find the most environmentally conscious solution available.

“This step comes as part of Chiesi’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2035 on all direct (scope 1 and 2) and indirect (scope 3) greenhouse gas emissions. Our carbon neutrality announcement last year called for “action over words” in the fight against climate change, and this announcement is the latest way that we are delivering on that commitment.”