Low Cost, Needle-Free Treatment for Post-Partum Haemorrhage

Michelle McIntosh of Monash University in Australia will develop and test the stability and efficacy of a dry powder formulation of the drug oxytocin, which is used to treat post-partum bleeding, in an inexpensive inhalant format that would be a needle-free, non-refrigerated option suitable for use in remote areas with limited training. The project's Phase I research provided proof-of-concept that the inhalation of pharmaceutically engineered particles of oxytocin can rapidly induce therapeutically-relevant contraction of uterine smooth muscle. During Phase II, McIntosh and a team will continue to improve the stability of the oxytocin powder and further characterize the relationship between oxytocin delivered to the lungs and effectiveness in a preclinical model.