Glasgow health tech innovator secures £2m Scottish Enterprise grant to transform how medicines are inhaled

The Scottish Enterprise funding follows a successful £4.7 million investment round in 2024.  It will support product development, preparations for regulatory approval and partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies as Nebu~Flow works towards bringing the technology to market.

Nebulisers are a common means of delivering essential medicines to the lungs for people with respiratory conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis.  These conditions place a significant and growing burden on healthcare systems worldwide, costing the NHS in Scotland alone around £500 million each year to manage. While nebulisers have existed for more than a century, the technology itself has barely changed. This restricts the types of medicines people can receive by inhalation, preventing them from benefiting from some newer, more effective therapies. Nebu~Flow’s new device is designed to change that.

Its patented aerosol-formation technology enables precise control of droplet size and distribution, delivering medicines more gently and efficiently to the lungs. Early studies show the system can successfully deliver a much wider range of medicines than existing nebulisers, including hard-to-nebulise and fragile medicines such as emerging biologics and advanced therapeutics.

Andrea Cusack, Chief Executive Officer of Nebu~Flow, said: “This support from Scottish Enterprise is a huge moment for our team. It allows us to turn years of Scottish research and engineering into a real product that could make a genuine difference to patients’ lives. Our goal is simple: to help people get better, more effective medicines in a way that’s easier, safer and more comfortable for them.”

Nicola Anderson, Director Scaling Innovation at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Scottish Enterprise has nurtured Nebu~Flow’s ambition to revolutionise respiratory drug delivery over a number of years, from inclusion in our Unlocking Ambition entrepreneurship programme, feasibility grant support, investment in their vision and now with this significant R&D grant award.

"The human health sector is a key opportunity area for growth in Scotland. Companies like Nebu~Flow play a vital role in transforming our economy by scaling up, creating high-value jobs and competing internationally. It has been fantastic to follow their journey from university spinout to today where they are poised to bring the technology to market. With this progress, there’s real hope that their work will deliver significant benefits for respiratory patients worldwide.”

The Scottish Enterprise funding will allow Nebu~Flow to move from a working prototype to a fully engineered product. This includes finalising the design, carrying out performance testing, and preparing the approvals needed to bring the device to market in the UK, Europe and the United States. For patients, this could mean better access to advanced medicines and more treatment and monitoring at home, all of which can improve quality of life and long-term health outcomes.

Founded in Glasgow and spun out of the University of Glasgow, Nebu~Flow brings together engineers, scientists and clinicians with deep expertise in respiratory medicine. The company’s work reflects Scotland’s growing strength in health technology, advanced engineering and life sciences. The company plans to continue growing its team in Scotland as development progresses, with ambitions to partner with global pharmaceutical companies and bring this home-grown innovation to patients around the world.

About respiratory diseases in Scotland

Respiratory diseases affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide and place a major burden on health services, including NHS Scotland.

• Around 720,000 people in Scotland are currently treated for asthma, and roughly 241,000 live with COPD.
• Data from Public Health Scotland estimates that the amount of people with COPD in Scotland is set to rise by 63% from 134,257 cases in 2019 to 218,962 in 2044. 
• Scotland has a higher prevalence of COPD than other nations in the UK