AstraZeneca is a contentious word in Australia. The blood clot condition that happens in very rare cases after the AstraZeneca vaccine is administered caused a (metaphorical) ulcer to fester in many older Australians when the Australian government made it the only vaccine available to people over 50. When blood clots appeared in a few people in their 50s, the government raised the AstraZeneca threshold to over 60s, worsening the situation.

But AstraZeneca which, to be fair, is saving millions of lives throughout the world, is doing good for COPD and asthma sufferers also. It is raising awareness of these growing illnesses with an inhaler made from CO2. AstraZeneca Brazil and McCann Health Sao Paulo and New York have created an inhaler made from carbon dioxide converted into biodegradable plastic. Both the medication the inhaler carries and the inhaler itself help patients to breathe better.

“AstraZeneca is committed to become carbon negative by 2030. The CO2 Inhaler sets a precedent for the future where it can tackle two issues at once. The health of our patients, and the health of our environment,” stated AstraZeneca Brazil’s senior product manager, Viviane Milício.

According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution kills millions of people every year and carbon dioxide exacerbates respiratory conditions in patients suffering from COPD and asthma, often leading to premature deaths in these patients. 

AstraZeneca and McCann worked with one of the world’s top 100 chemists, Geoffrey Coates at Cornell University. He has been leading research and development of CO2 converted into plastic for over a decade. In addition, the team worked with Novomer, a leading sustainable manufacturing company co-founded by Coates that specialises in the polymerisation of carbon dioxide.