In February, Honeywell International tied up with AstraZeneca of UK to develop an inhalation drug for asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients. Both companies are going to commercialize the inhaler using HFO1234ze(E) as a propellant.
　
There are 339 million asthma and 384 million COPD patients over the world, and the existing inhalers (pMDI=pressurized metered dose inhaler) are pushing up carbon footprints in the medical treatment field. The reason is that the current pMDI in general uses HFC134a as a medical propellant.

That is why AstraZeneca started to develop an inhaler using HFO1234ze(Z) which has nearly zero GWP. As the Phase 1 Clinical Trial proved to be satisfactory, AstraZeneca decided to form a partnership with Honeywell to step on its development for commercialization.

　HFO1234ze(Z) is incombustible with the feature of no ozone depletion potential and a nearly zero GWP. In Japan it is classified into a group of specific inert gases. The trade name of the Honeywell product is “Solstice Air”. According to the company, the gas is the only medical propellant under the clinical development of pMDI now.