Background: Inhaled drug delivery after lung transplantation provides a unique opportunity for direct treatment of a solid organ transplant. At present, no inhaled therapies are approved for this population though several have received some development. Primary potential applications include inhaled immunosuppressive and anti-infective drugs.
Objectives: The objective of this article is to review potential applications of inhaled medications for lung transplant recipients, the techniques used to develop inhaled drugs and the challenges of aerosol delivery in this specific population.
Methods: The results of relevant studies are reviewed and two developmental examples are presented.
Results/conclusions: Inhaled medications may provide significant advantages for lung transplant recipients. Past studies with inhaled cyclosporine and amphotericin-B provide useful guidance for clinical development of new preparations.