Pharmaceutical packaging is getting smarter thanks to a reusable, Bluetooth-enabled device that enables patients using metered-dose inhalers to track their daily inhaler use and better adhere to their respiratory-therapy regimen.

To create the smart device, called Adhero, India-based pharmaceutical company Lupin Limited partnered with Aptar Pharma, which is part of Crystal Lake, IL-based AptarGroup. Launched initially in India, Adhero attaches to the top of an inhaler. According to Aptar Pharma, Adhero is India’s first “connected device” for metered-dose inhalers.

Adhero helps patients with chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), adhere to their prescribed therapy using built-in sensors that track their inhaler-consumption patterns and daily use. A companion mobile app sends reminders to the patient’s smartphone as well as health alerts based, for example, on the Air Quality Index at the patient’s current location.

Navia Life Care, also based in India, developed Adhero’s digital platform, which includes the MyAdhero Patient App, Care Provider App, and Doctor Portal. Physicians can access Adhero tracking data and other information through the dashboard portal and through the Care Provider App, with their patient’s permission. The apps also provide visual analytics to aid in understanding the data collected by Adhero.

Aptar Pharma estimates that almost 45% of patients don’t adhere to their prescribed respiratory therapy. Reasons include failure to maintain medication schedules and not filling or refilling prescriptions. Those lapses can affect patient health and quality of life.

According to the World Allergy Organization, “More than 35% of [asthma patients] fill less than half of the prescribed medications.” In addition, “Non-adherence to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) is likely responsible for 24% asthma exacerbations [and] poor outcomes.”

With more cases of asthma and COPD being diagnosed daily, Lupin is using Adhero to boost the power of packaging and, hopefully, improve clinical outcomes and patients’ quality of life.