Turn on cookies to sign in
Signing in saves your progress to your Curie account. We can only do that with cookies on — turn them on to continue.
A credit card-sized, cardboard inhaler could shake up the $38B inhalable drugs market. Edinburgh-based 1nhaler has raised £2.2 million to push its novel single-dose dry powder inhaler toward regulatory approval. The funding will support clinical trials for its lead product, 1nhaler Salbutamol, with a regulatory filing targeted for late 2027.
A credit card-sized inhaler made of cardboard could be the future of drug delivery. Edinburgh-based startup 1nhaler has secured £2.2 million in follow-on funding, led by Archangels with support from Scottish Enterprise and BBB Investments. The money will advance its lead product — 1nhaler Salbutamol — through clinical trials and toward a regulatory filing targeted for late 2027.
Unlike the bulky plastic inhalers most patients are familiar with, 1nhaler's single-dose dry powder inhaler (DPI) is predominantly cardboard, folds into a 3D device for use, and is designed to be simpler and cheaper to manufacture. The platform could eventually deliver treatments beyond asthma and COPD, including pain relief and vaccines.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Inhalable medicines offer rapid, needle-free drug delivery, and demand is growing fast. A low-cost, eco-friendly inhaler platform could dramatically improve accessibility — especially in lower-resource settings — while also disrupting a multi-billion-dollar global market.