AstraZeneca Targets Planet-Warming Inhalers to Cut Emissions

Inhalers helping patients with chronic lung conditions breathe are also adding congestion to the Earth’s atmosphere.

This is spurring U.K. drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc to develop a new line of devices that use a propellant with near-zero climate impact. The company isn’t alone. Rival GlaxoSmithKline Plc said last year it’s working on similar planet-friendly technology.

AstraZeneca is collaborating with Honeywell International Inc. on the next-generation inhalers and plans to introduce them in 2025, Ben Fenby, global head of AstraZeneca’s Aerosphere franchise, said in an interview.

“Inhalers are one of the more complex drug device options that the pharmaceutical industry makes,” he said. ...