Starhaler® Device Finalist at Medical Design Excellence Awards

MUMBAI, India, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

SPARC Ltd's Combitide Starhaler^® for asthma and COPD is a finalist at the 2012 Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) to be held in Philadelphia this May.

MDEA is the premier awards program for the medical technology community, and the only awards program that exclusively recognizes contributions and advances in the design of medical products.

Combitide Starhaler^® is a novel, high performance multi dose dry powder inhaler. This next generation DPI improves on current marketed devices.

The inhaler has a uniform delivery profile that ensures that the full intended metered dose of the drug is administered to the deep lung, regardless of the strength of the patient's intake of breath. This step change in inhaler technology offers a reliable and easy to use device, particularly for patients with impaired lung function

Similar therapeutic benefit to the marketed devices was achieved while only using half the amount of drug. This reduced drug usage offer significant benefits to patients, over the side effects associated with many asthma and COPD therapies.

In addition, the device integrates a number of user-friendly design features. These include: a numerical dose counter to indicate at a glance how many more doses are left in the inhaler before it runs out, a luminous feature to enable users to find the device in the dark, and a small pop-out 'braille' button which activates when there are only a few doses remaining. The device also features a unique palm-held form, designed to discreetly house the complex dose carriage and delivery system, yet remain comfortable to hold and use.

Combitide Starhaler^® has been introduced in the Indian market last year by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

About SPARC

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd (NSE: SPARC, BSE: 532872) is an international pharmaceutical company engaged in research and development of drugs and delivery systems. More information about the company can be found at  http://www.sunpharma.in.

"The Company is proposing, subject to market conditions and other considerations, rights issue of its equity shares and the Company has filed a Draft Letter of Offer with the Stock Exchanges and the Securities and Exchange Board of India ("SEBI"). The Draft Letter of Offer is available on the website of SEBI at http://www.sebi.gov.in and the website of the Lead Manager at  http://www.ey.com/IN/en/Services/Transactions. Any potential investor should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk. For details, see the section titled "Risk Factors" of the Draft Letter of Offer."

About the Award

The award is based upon descriptive materials submitted to the jurors; the jurors and the competition operators did not verify the accuracy of any submission or of any claims made and did not test the item to which the award was given.

Entries for the MDEA are evaluated on the basis of their design, engineering features, innovative use of materials, user-related functions that improve healthcare delivery, features that provide enhanced patient benefits, and the ability of the product development team to overcome design and engineering challenges so that the product meets its clinical objectives.

Contact

Uday Baldota
Tel: +91-22-6645-5645, Ext 605    
Tel Direct: +91-22-66455605    
Mobile: +91-98670-10529    
E mail: [email protected]     

Mira Desai
Tel: +91-22-6645-5645, Ext 606
Tel Direct: +91-22-66455606
Mobile: +91-98219-23797
E mail: [email protected]

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SOURCE Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd