Healthtech 1nhaler raises £2m led by Archangels with Scottish Enterprise
This article covers 1nhaler, an Edinburgh healthtech startup, and its £2m growth funding round to advance its pop-up cardboard inhaler towards regulatory approval. The funds will support late-stage development, manufacture of clinical trial material and a small clinical study ahead of a regulatory filing targeted for late 2027, impacting patients and the UK healthtech ecosystem.
1nhaler, an Edinburgh healthtech startup, has raised £2m in a growth funding round to advance its pop-up cardboard inhaler towards regulatory approval. The follow-on funding will pay for late-stage development of its lead product, 1nhaler Salbutamol, including manufacture of clinical trial material and a small clinical study ahead of a regulatory filing targeted for late 2027.
Why it matters
Inhaled delivery is a fast route for many medicines and already used for asthma, COPD, influenza, epilepsy, depression and Parkinson’s. 1nhaler’s approach aims to address cost, accessibility and environmental concerns tied to conventional plastic inhalers by using a mostly cardboard, single-dose device that can be manufactured at lower complexity.
The global market for inhalable drugs is sizeable: Grand View Research values it at about £28.32 billion in 2026 and projects growth to between £29.81 billion and £50.67 billion by 2033–35. If the device proves practical in trials and scalable in manufacture, it could be relevant not only to salbutamol for asthma but to dry powder formulations for pain relief and vaccines.
Inside the product
1nhaler Salbutamol pairs the device with salbutamol, a long-established asthma medicine. The inhaler is a single-dose dry powder format that sits flat at credit-card dimensions and pops into a three-dimensional inhaler for use. Its design features few parts and a patent-protected membrane-based system intended to simplify manufacturing and reduce cost.
The new funds will complete the technical transfer into contract manufacturing to produce clinical trial material and finance a small clinical study to support a regulatory submission targeted for late 2027. The round also backs a manufacturing engineering study with Harro Höfliger to assess scaling the device for commercial production.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by Archangels and supported by Scottish Enterprise and BBB Investments. Archangels has been an earlier backer of the company and the new capital follows prior investment.
In the announcement, Sarah Hardy, Head of New Investments at Archangels, said:
Having backed 1nhaler since 2023, we see this latest round as a reflection of our confidence in the team and its novel inhaler device that has the potential to disrupt the global market for inhaled medicines. We are particularly excited by the commercial traction and interest from potential partners across a broader range of drugs than we initially anticipated, highlighting the platform’s versatility and market potential. Taking this product into a clinical study is a significant milestone towards demonstrating its performance in patients. Working alongside our co-investors, we look forward to supporting 1nhaler through its next stage of growth as it builds towards regulatory approval and commercialisation.
In the announcement, Derek Shaw, Director of Company Funding and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, said:
This investment highlights our dedication to supporting the growth of ambitious businesses in Scotland. By helping these companies scale, we aim to empower them to compete and lead in global markets. Scotland has distinct global strengths in industries such as human health and fostering the development of companies such as 1nhaler is key to sustaining their success and driving future growth.
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Founder perspective
Don Smith and Lisa McMyn founded 1nhaler and the company says the team brings experience in bringing inhaled products to market. Senior hires include Chief Scientific Officer Helen Muirhead, formerly Head of GSK’s Respiratory Centre of Excellence responsible for Diskus and Ellipta development, and Chief Medical Officer Lars Larsson, formerly Medical Director, Licensing at AstraZeneca and Head of Clinical Research at Novartis.
In the announcement, Lisa McMyn, Co-founder & CEO at 1nhaler, said:
This investment takes us to one of the most important milestones in our journey - taking our own lead product into the clinic. The continued backing of Archangels, Scottish Enterprise and BBB Investments reflects the technical and commercial progress we have made over the past year.
The bigger picture
The round moves 1nhaler from development towards clinical demonstration and shows continued investor interest in alternatives to traditional inhaler formats. The involvement of a national development agency and a regional investor underlines Scotland’s role in UK healthtech development and in supporting device-led therapeutic innovation. If 1nhaler can validate performance in patients and demonstrate scalable manufacture, it will join a wider wave of UK and European projects aiming to cut costs and carbon in medical devices while widening access to inhaled therapies.
They've invested in 1nhaler
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| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Archangels( ) Archangels focuses on investing in disruptive technology with protectable intell... Edinburgh  | ||||
 Scottish Enterprise( ) The firm focuses on supporting early-stage and growing companies in Scotland, of... Glasgow | ||||
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