Pharmaceutical company Pneuma Respiratory Inc, on Wednesday announced a partnership with biopharmaceutical company Leads Biolabs Inc, which gives Pneuma an exclusive license to develop Leads Biolabs' panel of immuno-oncology monoclonal antibodies and fusion protein molecules.

Under the agreement, Pneuma digital inhaler platform provides access to the untapped potential of pulmonary delivery of Leads' immuno-oncology therapies in the treatment of oncologic or immune-mediated lung diseases.

Pneuma added that it recently announced the completion of a study demonstrating the feasibility of antibody delivery to the lungs via its digital inhaler platform. This study was conducted in an animal model and indicated that the Pneuma digital inhaler platform may provide a method for the pulmonary delivery of monoclonal antibody therapies, enabling the targeted treatment of oncologic or immune-mediated lung diseases.

Based in Boone, North Carolina and launched in 2015, Pneuma Respiratory has created the first fully integrated digital breath-activated inhaler, an inhaled delivery system that includes digital micro-fluidics integrated with Bluetooth technology capable of providing feedback on drug delivery to patients, family members, and health care providers. The device uses Pneuma's digital droplet ejector technology and reportedly has the potential to ultimately deliver a spectrum of novel therapies, including biologics, to the lungs. The company added that the first breath-activated digital inhaler (BDI) is currently in use for investigational purposes only and is not yet commercially available.