Boehringer Ingelheim is developing a "soft mist", propellant-free inhaler. The mist produced by the device is slow moving and results in a higher level of drug deposition in the lungs than a CFC metered dosage inhaler, the company says.
Professor David Ganderton (department of pharmacy, King's College London) says that this could lead to "the possibility of treating respiratory diseases with lower drug doses".
It will be a couple of years before the device, called Respimat, is marketed.