Pictured left to right is Inspiring Executive Director and Chairman Dr Liz Dallimore, Inspiring Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer Associate Professor Barry Clements, and The Kids Research Institute Australia Commercialisation Officer Ashley Schoof.
A The Kids Research Institute Australia spin-off company, Inspiring Holdings Pty Ltd (Inspiring), has been announced as winner of the Wesfarmers Wellbeing Platinum Award in the prestigious WA Innovator of the Year awards for their novel Universal Spacer System – a device which improves the delivery of inhaled drug to the lungs.
Funded through the Western Australian Government’s New Industries Fund, the WA Innovator of the Year Awards acknowledge outstanding Western Australian companies that have developed an innovative product, technology or service.
The program provides a platform to take an idea or product in the early stages of development to the next stage, with professional and financial support, including training and mentoring.
Inspiring is a medical device company developing a revolutionary spacer system which can be used with inhalation drug delivery devices - including metered-dose inhalers (or puffers), nebulisers and dry powder inhalers - to improve the ease-of-use and delivery efficiency of drug to the lungs, ensuring the lives of millions of people who suffer from conditions such as asthma are made measurably better.
The company is led by Executive Director and Chairman Dr Liz Dallimore and the researcher behind the Universal Spacer System concept Associate Professor Barry Clements, a paediatric respiratory clinician and researcher with the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre – a powerhouse partnership between The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth Children’s Hospital and Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Associate Professor Clements said the development of the Universal Spacer System came about after many years of frustration watching children struggle to use their inhaler devices properly.
“When kids presenting to hospital with an asthma attack are unable to get enough drug into their lungs to relieve their symptoms, it is terrifying for both the patient and loved ones looking on. I just knew there had to be a better way to help these children,” Associate Professor Clements said.
“In the pursuit of better patient outcomes, I’ve spent the past four years designing, developing, and testing a novel spacer device that is small, lightweight, and significantly improves the ability of young children to inhale drugs to the lungs. The outcome is Inspiring’s Universal Spacer System.
“We’ve been able to develop the device and advance to this point thanks to the support, guidance and expertise of The Kids’ Innovation Office and other key stakeholders who recognise the huge potential of this device to enhance millions of lives.”
Learn more about Inspiring and the Universal Spacer System here WA Innovator of the Year: 2023 Wesfarmers Wellbeing Platinum Award Winner (www.wa.gov.au)
Read the WA Government media release about the WA Innovator of the Year 2023 Award winners here Gold detection company named WA Innovator of the Year 2023 | Western Australian Government (www.wa.gov.au)