Bespak, the specialist contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) for inhaled and nasal drug delivery, and Upperton, a CDMO with specialist formulation development expertise, have entered into a strategic collaboration to provide an integrated pathway for the development and manufacture of nasal drug-device combination products using Bespak’s expanded proprietary device portfolio.
As interest in nasal delivery grows, particularly for systemic CNS and nose-to-brain therapies, developers face the challenge of aligning formulation, device and manufacturing suppliers throughout development. The collaboration extends Bespak’s nasal capabilities by bringing together its expertise in nasal device design, development engineering, industrialisation and commercial supply with Upperton’s formulation development, analytical and clinical manufacturing capabilities. Together, the companies aim to provide a more seamless route from early opportunity assessment and formulation-device development through to clinical supply, scale-up and commercial manufacture.
The new combined offering will support liquid, soft mist and dry powder formulations across Bespak’s newly expanded proprietary single and multi dose nasal device portfolio. By bringing formulation and device expertise together earlier, the companies aim to reduce development complexity, improve efficiency and accelerate customers’ progress of nasal drug products towards the clinic and into commercial supply.
Chris Hirst, CEO of Bespak said: “Nasal drug delivery is an exciting and rapidly evolving area, particularly as developers explore new opportunities for systemic delivery of CNS therapies and innovative nose-to-brain applications. However, successful development requires formulation, device and manufacturing strategies to work together from the outset.
“Our collaboration with Upperton adds highly complementary formulation and analytical expertise to our expanded nasal device portfolio, giving customers a more integrated development pathway. By considering the formulation and device as one combination product from an early stage, we can help customers navigate development more efficiently and build a stronger foundation for clinical and commercial success.”
Nikki Whitfield, CEO of Upperton said: “Successful nasal drug product development depends on a detailed understanding of the interaction between formulation, device and manufacturing requirements. By combining Upperton’s formulation, analytical and clinical manufacturing expertise with Bespak’s device engineering and commercialisation capabilities, we can provide customers with coordinated support across the development journey.
“Bringing our specialists together around each programme will help customers make critical development decisions earlier and provide a clearer pathway from development and clinical supply towards commercialisation.”
About Bespak
Bespak is a specialist global contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) solely focused on the inhaled and nasal drug delivery industry. It develops and manufactures inhaled and nasal drug products, drug delivery devices and components for the global pharmaceutical market. Headquartered in Holmes Chapel, UK, Bespak provides a specialist, fully integrated service to support customers from early-stage feasibility, analytical and formulation, product development and clinical supply, through to full-scale cGMP batch production.
With a long history in the development and commercial supply of pressurised Metered Dose Inhalers (pMDIs), Bespak supplies a major proportion of the world’s pMDI dosing valves and actuators. Built on established expertise but ready for the future, Bespak is a long-term innovation partner committed to driving sustainability in the industry. The company has both established capacity and ongoing expansions to enable the manufacture of pMDIs with low Global Warming Potential (GWP) propellants, making it well positioned to lead the green pMDI transition.
Bespak will unveil its expanded nasal offering at CPHI 2026 in Milan, demonstrating how its new capabilities can support nasal drug products from development through to commercialisation. Visitors can meet the Bespak team at stand 11C27 to discuss their nasal development programmes.
More information: www.bespak.com
About Upperton:
Upperton has over 25 years’ experience of delivering science-led, high quality, innovative drug development and manufacturing solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients worldwide.
Based in Nottingham, UK, Upperton has a 60,000 sq. ft development and manufacturing facility, with formulation and analytical development laboratories, alongside a fully equipped GMP manufacturing and quality control testing capability. Upperton is MHRA Approved to manufacture materials for clinical trial supplies. In addition to supporting conventional oral solid dosage form development, Upperton has a strong history in spray drying which addresses both the challenges with poorly soluble molecules and as a particle engineering technology for targeted deposition for pulmonary and nasal drug products.
The company employs over one hundred highly skilled personnel and has its headquarters in Nottingham, UK.
More information: https://upperton.com/
