MAP Pharmaceuticals and Elan Corporation, plc have agreed to amend their previous agreement, signed in 2004, to seek to apply Elan's proprietary NanoCrystal technology to defined inhalation therapies.

MAP has been collaborating with Elan to develop a nebulized form of budesonide for the treatment of asthma. The agreement provides additional rights to MAP for the use of NanoCrystal technology for the treatment of multiple respiratory diseases, including asthma.

This agreement covers nebulized delivery of budesonide and combinations of budesonide with beta agonists. Budesonide is an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid indicated for the maintenance treatment of asthma as well as prophylactic therapy for this condition. In all delivery forms, including nebulized delivery, budesonide sales exceeded US$1bn worldwide in 2004.

Asthma affects approximately 17 million Americans, 5 million of whom are children. The nebulized portion of the asthma market is the fastest growing segment, largely due to the increasingly high diagnosis rates for asthma in the paediatric population.

The NanoCrystal technology to be used in the development of the new formulation of budesonide is a proprietary Elan innovation for poorly water- soluble compounds. NanoCrystal technology is designed to enhance the clinical performance of poorly water-soluble drugs by transforming them into nanometre-sized particles.