Monash team wins grant for inhalable oxytocin

A research team from Monash University has secured a $1 million grant to develop an inhaled version of oxytocin, used to treat post-partum haemorrhage.

The Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences won the grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges Explorations initiative.

The phase II funding injection will be used to help move the project to human trials. The team aims to commence these trials next year.

Animal studies have demonstrated the candidate's ability to cause uterine contractions when delivered into the lungs.

While oxytocin is commonly available in developed countries, as an injectable product many healthcare practitioners in emerging markets lack access to the refrigeration facilities required to store it.

Converting it into a spray would make the treatment more widely available in developing nations, and in nations with cultural taboos about injections.

Postpartum haemorrhage is one of the largest preventable causes of pregnancy-related death in developing countries, with an estimated 150,000 fatalities a year.

Oxytocin is the WHO-preferred treatment for the condition, and the UN Commission on Life Saving Commodities for Women and Children has recognised the costs of access to the hormone as a clear inhibitor to adoption.