RT interviews Geoff A. Hunziker, president of PARI Respiratory Equipment Inc

HunzikerAdvancements in aerosol delivery technology are changing the climate for such products. Geoff A. Hunziker, president of PARI Respiratory Equipment Inc, Monterey, Calif, tells RT about his company’s goals and how PARI is prepared to handle future technological improvements.

How does PARI distinguish itself from other respiratory product manufacturers?
PARI has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical approach of calling on clinicians to create interest in products and then establishing distribution to fill the demand. In order to be successful in creating demand with clinicians, our respiratory equipment specialists must be viewed more as “consultants” with extensive aerosol delivery knowledge, as opposed to sales representatives selling a product.

From a manufacturing standpoint, PARI has been designing and manufacturing products since 1906. PARI controls all aspects of product design, molding, scale-up production, and quality control.

Aerosol delivery is receiving much attention in the industry lately. What do you foresee for this market?
Delivering medication to patients through aerosol delivery will continue to grow in importance. The lung and sinus regions are very effective routes for delivering medication, and the lungs are an effective tool for both site-specific and systemic therapies.

How is PARI positioned to keep up with the environment of constantly evolving technology?
PARI spends a great deal of time on long-term planning and strategy development. PARI’s only focus now and in the future will be aerosol delivery. PARI’s vision includes nebulizer treatments in 2 minutes, less medication for the patient with similar benefits, simple breathing techniques, the ability to record patient data as part of a comprehensive disease management approach, devices that are easy to transport and can be used anywhere, and devices that are covered by a patient’s standard insurance policy.

PARI has developed the technology and partnered with companies that will allow us to achieve this vision with our new products. PARI has a dedicated research and development facility and team of aerosol scientists and engineers who focus on new product platforms for aerosol delivery.

What can our readers expect from PARI in the future?
PARI has just launched a revolutionary metal holding chamber called Vortex that eliminates the electrostatic charge commonly found with plastic holding chambers. The elimination of this charge ensures a more optimal and consistent aerosol therapy while minimizing wastage. PARI wants to serve the needs of both the nebulizer and metered dose inhaler patient.

In addition, PARI has a new product platform called PARI eFlow. The “e” is for electronic, and it will allow current formulations to be reformulated and submitted to the FDA as new medications. The combination of device and formulation expertise allows us to optimize new medications for eFlow. This should be very attractive to our pharmaceutical partners who use PARI for their current clinical trials. PARI eFlow can also be modified to work with existing medications on the market.