The present disclosure provides aerosol delivery devices. In an example implementation, an aerosol delivery device comprises an aerosol source member that defines an outer surface and an interior area and includes a substrate material having an aerosol precursor composition associated therewith, a control body having a housing that is configured to receive the aerosol source member, an electrical energy source coupled with the housing, and a heating assembly operatively connected to the electrical energy source. The heating assembly includes a plurality of spikes that may be configured to articulate between a retracted position, in which the plurality of spikes is not in contact with the aerosol source member, and a heating position, in which the plurality of spikes pierces through the outer surface of the substrate material and into a portion of the interior area thereof.

The present invention provides an inhaler comprising a housing which contains a blister strip having a plurality of blisters which contain powdered medicament for inhalation; a mouthpiece through which the medicament is inhaled by a user; an indexing wheel for indexing the blister strip; an opening mechanism for opening the blisters; an actuator which is movable between a first position and a second position in order to operate the indexing wheel and the opening mechanism; and a coupling mechanism for coupling the actuator to the indexing wheel so that the indexing wheel rotates together with the actuator during part of the motion of the actuator; characterized in that the coupling mechanism comprises a shuttle that rotates on the same axis as, and translates axially relative to, the indexing wheel.

A dry pharmaceutical composition is provided that is suitable for respiratory tract delivery of levodopa and DDI for treatment of Parkinson's disease or Parkinson syndrome. The dry pharmaceutical composition comprises levodopa, a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor (DDI) and at least one excipient. A unit dosage form of the dry pharmaceutical composition and a method of treating a patient with Parkinson's disease or Parkinson syndrome by administering the dry pharmaceutical composition are also provided.

A device for delivering a compound to the olfactory region of the nasal cavity includes an actuator body and a tip that removably couples to the actuator body. The actuator body includes a propellant channel in fluid communication with a propellant canister. The tip includes an exit channel, an inlet interface, one or more grooves, and an outlet orifice. The exit channel extends between a proximal end and a distal end of the tip. The inlet interface is positioned about a distal end of the exit channel, and the inlet interface couples to a compound container containing the compound. The grooves are positioned about the inlet interface and direct propellant from the propellant channel into the compound container, thereby agitating and entraining the compound in the compound container with the released propellant. The compound and the propellant then travel through the exit channel and out the outlet orifice.

The method and system according to preferred embodiments of the present invention allows an effective delivery of aerosolized medicament (e.g., a surfactant) to the patient's lungs. According to a preferred embodiment, the method of the present invention provides an efficient delivery of the aerosol medicament (possibly breath synchronized). A glass vial in which medicaments are usually stored and shipped is used directly as a component of the system. Its function in the system is that of an intermittently pressurized chamber that can inject the surfactant into the catheter of the atomizer device. According to a preferred embodiment the delivery can be done in phase with the beginning of each inspiration. The main elements of the system are: a source of compressed gas, the already mentioned medicament vial, a catheter, and optionally means to detect the breathing pattern and a control unit.

A device according to one aspect of the present invention is an intranasal powdered medicine dispensing device (10) for dispensing a predetermined dose of a powdered medicine into a nasal cavity. The device includes a nozzle member (20) that includes a filling space (22) for a powdered medicine (M) and an ejection opening (26) for the powdered medicine (M), a closing member that closes the ejection opening (26), a sealing member (40) that seals an opening (24) of the filling space (22), an injection pump member (50) that sends out air, as the injection pump member contracts, to eject the powdered medicine from the ejection opening (26), a puncturing member (60) that moves, as the injection pump member (50) contracts, and forms a hole by puncturing in the sealing member (40) while moving, and a guide member (70) that restricts the puncturing member (60) from moving in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the movement thereof.

An aerosol generating device includes a heating chamber arranged to receive a consumable and heat the consumable to generate an inhalable vapour; a consumable picker arranged to engage and retain a consumable, wherein the consumable picker is movable relative to the heating chamber between: a first, external position in which the consumable picker is positioned external to the device; and a second, internal position in which the consumable picker lies within the heating chamber; such that a user may engage a consumable with the consumable picker in the first position and subsequently move the consumable picker to the second position, thereby moving the consumable picker with the retained consumable into the heating chamber for heating. By providing an aerosol generating device including a consumable picker configured in this way, the process of exchanging the consumable is greatly simplified.

Provided is a blister pack for a dry powder inhaler, which dry powder inhaler is configured to deliver a first powder medicament and a second powder medicament different from the first powder medicament. The first and second powder medicaments are contained within blister pockets defined in a strip. A series of blister pockets is defined in the strip, which series extends linearly along the length of the strip. The first and second powder medicaments are contained in blister pockets, e.g. respective blister pockets, of the series. Alternatively or additionally, each of the blister pockets is elongated such as to have a largest dimension parallel with the length of the strip. These measures, either individually or in combination, enable minimizing of the width of the strip in spite of the strip accommodating both the first and second powder medicaments. This, in turn, may enable the depth/thickness of the dry powder inhaler to be minimized, and/or additional space to be provided inside the dry powder inhaler for accommodating, for example, use detection and wireless connectivity electronics for sending use detection data to an external device, such as a smartphone.

The method includes first providing a retention medium in a first element; coaxially aligning a plurality of elements, wrapping the coaxially aligned plurality of elements within a wrapper to form a portion of the aerosol-generating article, the plurality of elements including the first element, the aerosol-generating article having a first end and a second end, the second end being upstream from the first end based on an expected direction of airflow through the aerosol-generating article during normal operational use, second providing at least one capsule, the at least one capsule releasably containing a substrate, and inserting the at least one capsule within the first element, the retention medium being configured to retain the substrate after a release of the substrate from the at least one capsule, the retention medium being devoid of the substrate prior to the release of the substrate from the at least one capsule.

A unit dose container for the containment of an intranasal formulation for use with the POD device.