On March 11, during the Dutch Spring congress of the Royal Dutch Pharmaceutical Association (KNMP), the project “Point-of-care FeNO measurement in the pharmacy”, with participation of MAECON’s founder Job van Boven from the UMCG, has won the KNMP Healthcare Innovation Prize! This Prize, worth €10,000, is annually awarded for advances in pharmaceutical care.
The project used an innovative device that measured fractional nitric oxide (FeNO) in exhaled breath of patients with asthma. FeNO is a marker for inflammation of the airway epithelium, but also biomarker for response to inhaled corticosteroids. Using the periodical FeNO measurements in patients with high use of short-acting beta agonists and/or oral steroids (indication for uncontrolled asthma), pharmacists could use non-invasive “therapeutic drug monitoring” followed by interventions focusing on inhaled corticostroid dose optimization, inhaler technique education and enhancement of medication adherence, performed in close collaboration with GPs, nurses and pulmonologists. After 6 months, most patients had a reduced FeNO, but also signifcantly better asthma control. Some could even play sports again!
For the offcial announcement (in Dutch), see: “Point-of-care FeNO meting in de apotheek” wint KNMP Zorginnovatieprijs 2025 | KNMP
