Kind Consumer Limited

Kind Consumer Ltd (Kind Consumer or “Kind”)

Trading name	Kind Consumer Ltd
Type	Private company
Industry	Pharmaceuticals Medical Devices Medical Research and Development
Founded	London, United Kingdom 2006
Founder	Alex Hearn
Headquarters	London, England, UK
Key people	Alex Hearn (Founder, Chief Product Officer) Paul Triniman (Chief Operating Officer) Dr Chris Moyses (Chief Medical Officer)
Products	Voke ®
Services	Strategic Partnerships and Licensing
Number of employees	15
Website	http://www.kindconsumer.com

Kind Consumer Limited is a UK-based healthcare company which focuses on developing novel inhalation technologies to address some of the most significant global healthcare challenges. The company was founded in 2006 by Alex Hearn a British inventor and entrepreneur based in London^[1][2][3]

Inhaled Nicotine Delivery

The Technology

Kind Consumer's lead technology is a medically authorised non-tobacco based medicinal nicotine inhalation device. The device is a non-electronic nicotine delivery platform that delivers an aerosol of nicotine formulation from a cigarette-like stick via a breath-operated valve for oral inhalation. The technology is based around the pharmaceutical design concepts of metered-dose inhalers. The valve has been designed to actuate at low inhalation flow rates similar to those of cigarette smoking. The inhaler contains no tobacco and does not involve combustion, electronics or heat of any nature in its operation.

The company received a marketing authorisation for the product Voke(R) from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in September 2014, after its application in November 2012.

Product Development Rationale

The development rationale of inhaler technology is to provide a novel format of nicotine delivery^[4] which offers smokers a more acceptable alternative to the tobacco cigarette to help them cut down, substitute and quit - a concept known as Tobacco Harm Reduction.

The health burden of tobacco usage and in particular tobacco smoking is very well known. Tobacco smoking is a major global health epidemic with an estimated 1.3 billion individuals regularly smoking tobacco products across the world, predominantly cigarettes.^[5] It is well established that the key pharmacological element of tobacco addiction is the delivery of nicotine to the brain, leading to the release of a range of neurotransmitters such as dopamine which yield powerful feelings of “reward” and “pleasure” to the individual.^[6] The tobacco cigarette is a highly efficient nicotine delivery system that achieves rapid pulmonary delivery and sharp increases in the nicotine concentration in both arterial and venous blood. Although nicotine is the predominant addictive chemical in tobacco smoke, it is the other (approximately 4000) chemicals, including carcinogenic agents in the particulate phase, that lead to the well-established adverse health consequences of smoking.^[6] The World Health Organisation estimates that tobacco usage killed around 5.4 million people a year and by 2030 projections estimate this figure will rise to around 8.3 million deaths per year^[5]

Existing Regulatory Approved Nicotine Delivery Products

It has been argued that long-term success rates of existing NRT in smoking cessation remain low, with a recent study showing that only 6.75% of smokers receiving NRT therapy attained sustained abstinence for six months, albeit twice the rate of placebo treatment.^[7]

As an explanation for these findings it has been argued that the major limitation with delivery of nicotine by current nicotine replacement therapy products is that they do not provide smokers with the combination of a rapid delivery of nicotine and the unique respiratory tract sensory cues of inhaled nicotine (particularly upper airway irritation) which together are of primary importance in relieving craving for cigarettes.^[8] The nicotine nasal spray does achieve rapid delivery of nicotine but lacks the inhalational cues of cigarettes and has demonstrated limited acceptability due to the local irritant effects of nicotine on the nasal mucosa.^[9] The nicotine vapour Inhaler, although simulating the behavioural aspects of smoking and presenting some sensory cues, delivers nicotine very much slower than a cigarette.^[9]

Commercialisation

The technology is licensed for commercialisation to Nicoventures,^[10] a consumer healthcare company established by British American Tobacco to bring to market regulatory approved innovative nicotine delivery products.^[11] It is expected that the technology will be manufactured by the Bespak division of Consort Medical, a London Stock Exchange listed healthcare company^[12]

Voke ®

In September 2014, Voke became the first imitation cigarette to be authorised by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).^[13] The device is seen as a competitor to both e-cigarettes and nicotine-replacement therapies, such as gum and patches, as well as Johnson & Johnson's existing Nicorette Inhalator, which is not designed as an imitation cigarette.^[14]

The idea took 13 years to develop and was the brainchild of Alex Hearn, an asthmatic Oxford graduate whose parents smoked and who went through more than 800 prototypes before settling on a design.^[15]

The Voke Inhaler contains a micro-valve which is activated by the user inhaling, and unlike an e-cigarette, does not need electronics, batteries or heat to produce a hit of nicotine.^[14] Since it uses inhaler technology to deliver the nicotine, the Voke administers a precise dose of the drug which does not contain the tar, tobacco or other substances found in regular cigarettes.^[13]

The new Voke product was developed for BAT by Kind Consumer, a private company whose backers include former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy, one-time Sainsbury chairman Sir Peter Davis and venture capitalist Jon Moulton. As a medicinal product, Voke can be prescribed by doctors as a safer alternative to smoking.^[14] It will also be available to buy over the counter. Industry analysts expect Voke to be launched in 2015.^[13]

Notable Investors

Kind Consumer has attracted investment from a number of notable high profile angel investors including:^[16]

• Sir Terry Leahy, former Chief Executive of Tesco plc^[17][18]*Sir Peter Davis, former Chief Executive and Chairman of J Sainsbury plc^[3]
• Martin Beaumont, former Chief Executive of the Co-operative Group
• Jon Moulton, a British Venture Capitalist and founder of Better Capital^[3]

References