1nhaler, the Scottish developer of a credit-card-sized cardboard inhaler, has raised £2.2m in follow-on funding led by Archangels, with Scottish Enterprise and BBB Investments also investing. The money will fund a small clinical trial ahead of a first regulatory filing targeted for late 2027.
1nhaler is building a single-dose dry powder inhaler made mostly from cardboard. It ships flat and pops up into a three-dimensional device when the patient needs it. The design has few components and relies on a patented membrane system, so the company says it should be simpler and cheaper to make at scale than conventional plastic inhalers.
Its lead product, 1nhaler Salbutamol, pairs the device with salbutamol, one of the most widely prescribed asthma medicines.
The round
Archangels, the Edinburgh business angel syndicate, led the round. It has backed 1nhaler since 2023, and this follow-on extends its position as the company's anchor investor.
Scottish Enterprise, the country's economic development agency and a regular co-investor alongside Archangels, joined the round, as did BBB Investments.
The company did not disclose a valuation, the split between the investors or the total it has raised to date.
Use of funds
The money is earmarked for three things. First, 1nhaler will complete the technical transfer of its salbutamol product to a contract manufacturer, which will make material for clinical trials. Second, it will run a small clinical study to generate the data needed for a regulatory submission, targeted for late 2027.
Third, the company will carry out a manufacturing engineering study with Harro Höfliger, the German pharmaceutical packaging and equipment group, to plan commercial-scale production of the device.
The funding will also support business development talks with companies interested in licensing or partnering on the platform.
Beyond asthma
The longer-term pitch is a platform rather than a single product. Inhaled medicines already treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and they are used in influenza, epilepsy, depression and Parkinson's. 1nhaler says its single-dose format could also deliver dry powder pain relief and vaccines.
Chief executive and co-founder Lisa McMyn described the trial as one of the company's most important milestones, because it will be the first time 1nhaler takes its own product into the clinic.
Dr Sarah Hardy, head of new investments at Archangels, said potential partners had shown interest across a wider range of drugs than the syndicate first expected.
What's next
The round fits a familiar pattern in Scottish life sciences, where syndicate and public capital carry companies through the costly gap between prototype and clinical data. If the trial and the late-2027 filing go to plan, 1nhaler will be in a stronger position to bring in larger institutional or strategic investors. That could mean a priced round at a higher valuation, or a licensing deal for the lead product.
Original source: Tech.eu — https://tech.eu/2026/11/03/scottish-startup-1nhaler-secures-ps22m-to-replace-bulky-plastic-inhalers-with-cardboard/
