We are Discovery Labs, a specialty biotechnology company with one focused goal – to advance a new standard in respiratory critical care by creating life-saving products for patients with respiratory disease.

Our mission is to improve the lives of patients with respiratory disease, collaborate with the healthcare community, provide our dedicated employees with a rewarding work experience, and create value for our shareholders through innovation that contributes to the long-term growth of our business.

To accomplish this, we are dedicated to the development of novel synthetic surfactant therapies with broad potential application across many respiratory diseases. Surfactant is essential for normal breathing throughout life. Our fully synthetic surfactant technology has the potential to establish a completely new therapeutic approach for the treatment of respiratory disease, with a targeted initial application in preterm infants. Our lead surfactant product candidate is called SURFAXIN^®, which we are developing for the prevention of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature infants.

Creating life saving medicines for patients with respiratory disease is only part of the solution when attempting to ensure patients are getting the best possible care. Currently, the delivery of inhaled medicines to critical care patients is cumbersome and inefficient, and potentially subject to suboptimal or ineffective dosing. At Discovery Labs, we are simplifying the delivery of aerosolized respiratory medications by introducing the inhaled therapy directly at the patient interface and minimizing the number of connections in the ventilator circuit. Our novel ventilator circuit / patient interface connectors have the potential to improve delivery of the intended dose and reduce possible drug wastage, thereby lowering the costs of administration. Our lead aerosol delivery product candidate is a series of ventilator circuit / patient interface connectors called AFECTAIR^®.

Recent News

SURFAXIN (lucinactant intratracheal suspension) is intended for intratracheal use only. The administration of exogenous surfactants, including SURFAXIN, can rapidly affect oxygenation and lung compliance. SURFAXIN should be administered only by clinicians trained and experienced with intubation, ventilator management, and general care of premature infants in a highly supervised clinical setting. Infants receiving SURFAXIN should receive frequent clinical assessments so that oxygen and ventilatory support can be modified to respond to changes in respiratory status. Most common adverse reactions associated with the use of SURFAXIN are endotracheal tube reflux, pallor, endotracheal tube obstruction, and need for dose interruption. During SURFAXIN administration, if bradycardia, oxygen desaturation, endotracheal tube reflux, or airway obstruction occurs, administration should be interrupted and the infant’s clinical condition assessed and stabilized. SURFAXIN is not indicated for use in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

AEROSURF is an investigational drug-device combination product not approved by the FDA.