Respira Therapeutics Inc.'s method for delivering drugs to the lung is unusual because it does not utilize any chemical and doesn't require special formulations. Instead, a drug-coated bead about the size of a pea sits dead center in a cartridge the size and shape of a lipstick tube. When a person inhales from the device, the bead oscillates and the therapeutic is detached as the patient breathes in.

Drawing on a proprietary porous particle technology to create stable inhalable suspensions, Pearl Therapeutics Inc. has developed a metered-dose inhaler format able to deliver combination products across therapeutics and product types. The company's lead chronic obstructive pulmonary disease MDI candidate combines a long-acting muscarinic antagonist plus a long acting beta-2 agonist. A mid-stage clinical trial demonstrated significant benefits versus blockbuster, market-leading active comparators in patients with moderate-to-very severe COPD.

Protectimmun GMBH aims to leverage findings of a large epidemiological study showing that people exposed early in life to farms have reduced tendency to develop respiratory and other allergies. The German start-up thinks a component of barn dust can help train the human immune system so that it never perceives ordinary environmental substances as allergens.