Pharma Tech Outlook: Specials Magazine

eSonics approaches inhalation-device development from the premise that drug performance and device performance cannot be separated. Small variations in component tolerances can affect dose consistency, aerodynamic particle distribution and clinical outcomes, while regulations add requirements around design control, traceability and GMP-aligned manufacturing. Devices must also serve patients with different dexterity and respiratory conditions. “We believe that successful inhalation-product innovation depends not only on novel drugs, but also on tightly-coupled drug-device co-development,” says Leo Shi (LEI), Founder, Chairman of the Managing Board and CEO of the group. That thinking shapes eSonics’ work across aerosol, dry-powder, soft-mist and nasal delivery platforms. Rather than applying one engineering model to every device, it adapts its technical focus to the physics of each modality while maintaining common standards for material qualification, risk assessment and design-history documentation. For pharmaceutical partners without dedicated precision-engineering resources, this model reduces the risk of upfront tooling and prototyping through GMP-aligned prototyping and manufacturing support. From Requirements to Device Architecture For pressurized metered-dose aerosol devices, eSonics focuses on valve-canister precision, propellant compatibility, sealing and spray consistency. Dry-powder inhalers require attention to powder flow, dose metering and airflow-driven deagglomeration. Soft-mist devices shift the challenge toward micro-nozzle fluid dynamics, droplet generation and actuation precision, while nasal systems require control of plume geometry, droplet distribution, ergonomics and back-flow risk.

Every capsule swallowed, injectable administered, and biologic delivered to a patient begins its journey in a highly controlled manufacturing environment where pharmaceutical-grade water plays an essential role in production. Growth, however, introduces a different challenge. As manufacturing capacity expands, the pharmaceutical water system often becomes one of the first constraints. Expanding it is rarely a matter of adding equipment alone. Existing infrastructure, validated processes, and production schedules must all be considered. Helping manufacturers overcome that challenge is Howern Wasser, a Malaysian engineering company that designs, integrates, and supports Purified Water (PW), Water for Injection (WFI), and Ultra-Pure Water (UPW) systems for pharmaceutical manufacturers. “We don’t ask manufacturers to adapt to our systems. We engineer our systems around their manufacturing reality,” says Choon How Wan, founder and managing director. That philosophy shapes Howern Wasser’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) approach. Instead of beginning with equipment selection, every project starts with understanding how a facility operates, what its manufacturing process requires, and how the water system must support both current production and future demand.