Aptar Pharma and Macquarie University Collaborate to Advance Inhaled Biologics Through Australian Research Council-Supported Program

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 25, 2026--

Aptar Pharma, a global leader in drug delivery, dosing and protection technologies and services, today announced a new research collaboration with Macquarie University under an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project. The three-year program, “Unlocking the Potential of Dry Powder Carriers for Biologic Applications” (ARC LP250100089), will investigate formulation approaches designed to support the pulmonary delivery of biologic medicines.

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Central to the collaboration is Aptar Pharma's Orbital™ dry powder inhaler platform, an innovative technology designed to enable the delivery of high-payload dry powder formulations. Researchers will evaluate how formulation variables influence aerosol performance when delivered using the Orbital™ platform, generating new insights into the interplay between formulation design and device performance.

As interest in inhaled biologic therapies grows, developers continue to face challenges in delivering large doses of complex molecules while maintaining formulation integrity, aerosol performance and therapeutic effectiveness. Many biologics may also require novel excipient systems to achieve adequate stability and aerosolization. Supported by ARC and industry funding, the project combines Macquarie University academic research with Aptar Pharma’s expertise in inhalation science, pharmaceutical development and drug delivery technology.

The project will assess engineered, blended and combined dry powder formulations to understand how formulation characteristics influence aerosol behavior and device performance. The resulting data will also support the development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to provide further insight into aerosol behavior and particle transport. These models are expected to support future advances in dry powder formulation design and inhalation system performance.

“Biologic medicines represent a promising area of pharmaceutical development, yet significant challenges remain in translating their potential into effective inhaled therapies,” said Guillaume Brouet, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Aptar Pharma. “By combining academic and industry expertise, this program will help advance scientific understanding of high-dose dry powder delivery and support the development of future inhaled biologic medicines.”

“The ARC Linkage Program supports collaborations that translate scientific excellence into real-world impact,” said Prof. Daniela Traini, PhD, Professor of Respiratory Science, Macquarie University. “This project brings together researchers and industry experts to investigate critical questions in dry powder biologic delivery and support the future development of innovative inhaled therapies.”

About Macquarie University

Macquarie University is recognised globally for its pre-eminence in key research disciplines, as well as producing graduates who are among the most sought-after professionals in the world. Since its foundation in 1964, Macquarie has aspired to be a different type of university, fostering collaboration between students, academics, industry and society. Located in Sydney’s Macquarie Park Innovation District, the University provides world-class facilities and significant opportunities for research, innovation and commercial partnerships, advancing research that addresses global challenges and delivers real-world impact. For more information, visit https://www.mq.edu.au/faculty-of-medicine-health-and-human-sciences.

About Aptar Pharma

Aptar Pharma is part of AptarGroup, Inc., a global leader in drug and consumer product dosing, dispensing and protection technologies. Aptar serves a number of attractive end markets including pharmaceutical, beauty, food, beverage, personal care and home care. Using market expertise, proprietary design, engineering and science to create innovative solutions for many of the world’s leading brands, Aptar in turn makes a meaningful difference in the lives, looks, health and homes of millions of patients and consumers around the world. Aptar is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois and has over 13,000 dedicated employees in 20 countries. For more information, visit www.aptar.com.

Orbital™ - Aptar Pharma’s advanced Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) technology *photo courtesy of Aptar Pharma

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Residents of the largest city in northern Ethiopia said they were living in fear Friday, with many reportedly trying to flee to other provinces to escape renewed fighting between federal troops and rebels opposed to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Some told The Associated Press that internet service was disrupted across parts of northern Ethiopia, and roads connecting the northernmost region of Tigray with the neighboring region of Afar had been closed to civilian traffic.

“There is an atmosphere of fear,” said Selam Fantay, who sells garlic in the market in the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle. “People are deeply concerned that the suspension of transport services signals the outbreak of renewed conflict.”

The AP could not independently verify the reported closures.

Hailay Meles, a businessman in Mekelle, said he was worried that the disruption of transport links could increase the cost of essential goods. “As long as this conflict persists, it will continue to drive up the prices of basic commodities,” Meles said.

Valerie Browning, a co-founder of the Afar Pastoralist Development Association, a humanitarian group, said many people were fleeing Tigray into Afar. She said explosions were heard overnight.

She said that “too many people are being displaced. Our vehicles, including our ambulances are being taken from us by the government for use (in) the war.”

The renewed fighting has shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war in Tigray, the epicenter of renewed hostilities between federal troops and fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

The TPLF is an armed political group based in Tigray, and for years it was the dominant party in a coalition that ruled Ethiopia between 1991 and 2018. It has been outlawed by Abiy's government.

After the November 2022 peace agreement between the TPLF and federal authorities, a caretaker administration reporting to Abiy took charge in Mekelle. But tensions remained, and in May caretaker leader Tadesse Werede was removed and replaced with a TPLF leader who led Tigrayans in the 2020-2022 war.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the peace agreement. In recent months, Ethiopian federal authorities accused the TPLF of seeking to build an alliance with neighboring Eritrea to destabilize Ethiopia. The TPLF accused Ethiopian authorities of conducting drone attacks in Tigray.

Neighboring Eritrea, whose soldiers fought alongside Ethiopian troops in the previous Tigray conflict, said it was alarmed by Abiy’s repeated assertions of his wish for sovereign access to the Red Sea via Eritrea.

Ethiopia’s military said Thursday that dozens of TPLF fighters had been killed in ongoing operations. It said other fighters were detained and that federal forces have seized weapons.

Air travel into the region was suspended this week after fighters loyal to the TPLF seized Mekelle’s airport from federal police. Ethiopian Airlines canceled flights to and from the region.

Fighting erupted days after seven opposition groups said they were banding together in a coalition in a bid to remove the recently reelected Prosperity Party government of Abiy.

Magnus Taylor, an analyst with International Crisis Group, said the new alliance combines political opposition to Abiy with military coordination among armed groups operating in different parts of Ethiopia.

The alliance “is a combination of a political alliance based around mutual antipathy to Abiy Ahmed’s government and also a kind of opportunistic military alliance intended to threaten the Ethiopian military in the areas where the groups operate,” Taylor said.

In addition to the TPLF, the coalition’s other prominent members include the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Oromo Liberation Army.

Taylor pointed out that coordinated campaigns could open several fronts against the federal government.

“I think there is a real risk that the fighting could spread around the country,” he said, adding that the opposition alliance meant different armed groups can coordinate to “develop campaigns against the federal government in parallel to each other.”

People walk in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region, as fighting escalates with the central government, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo)

People walk in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region, as fighting escalates with the central government, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo)