GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) could have an early advantage in the race to refine a potent inhaler for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The company announced results from a Phase 3b study testing an experimental three-in-one drug on an estimated 2,802 patients at about 80 primary care sites in England. There was no predetermined criterion for patients to enroll in this study, which is why all volunteers came from a broad demographic.
Investigators in charge of this study were tasked with following patients for a total of 12 months. A single electronic medical record linking primary care, secondary care, and pharmacy data was used to monitor patients throughout the study. Participants were allowed to change or modify treatments during this period at any time. All of this was designed to track the rate of exacerbations during treatment, which is a trigger that worsens COPD symptoms.
Patients taking the triple therapy for a 24-week period experienced about 35 percent fewer moderate to severe flare-ups from the disease, reported Reuters. This was compared to AstraZeneca’s two-in-one treatment Symbicort. Another subset of patients saw 44 percent reduction in exacerbations in up to 52 weeks.
GSK is working on this drug with another company Innoviva. The organizations announced that this clinical trial met its goal in June, but this data regarding exacerbations was revealed at the recent European Respiratory Society Congress in London.
This particular therapy fuses drugs fluticasone, umeclidinium and vilanterol together with the intent of using three different mechanisms to open the airways of patients with the more severe version of this ailment, wrote Reuters.
A filing for regulatory approval could happen later this year.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
