Sunovion Pharmaceuticals touts data for COPD therapies

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals highlighted Phase III data for its investigational eFlow closed-system nebulizer in patients with moderate-to-very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The company said a long-term safety trial of eFlow demonstrated a high rate of patient-reported satisfaction and confidence with the use of the system. If it’s approved, eFlow would be the 1st nebulized long-acting muscarinic antagonists for use as a treatment for COPD in the U.S. The system allows patients to breathe normally while using the device and is designed to administer medication in 2 to 3 minutes.

“There are no approved nebulized, long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) currently available for use in COPD,” Thomas Goodin, senior director of clinical development, said in prepared remarks. “These data suggest that for moderate-to-very severe patients, SUN-101/eFlow could potentially be an effective and well-tolerated maintenance therapy.”

“COPD symptoms can severely impact patients’ daily activities and health related quality of life, and it is important for any treatment to be not only well-tolerated and effective, but also easy to administer,” principal investigator Dr. Gary Ferguson added. “With its efficacy and tolerability profile as well as the portability and short administration time, SUN-101/eFlow could be a valuable treatment option for patients with COPD.”

Sunovion also presented Phase III data for its Utibron Neohaler inhalation powder, which showed that the indacaterol/glycopyrrolate therapy improved lung function, health-related quality of life, dyspnea and night-time symptoms compared to placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“Improvement in health related quality of life, including reduction of difficult or labored breathing, is a key therapeutic goal for patients with COPD that is reflected in the updated 2017 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) report,” lead investigator Dr. Donald Mahler said in prepared remarks. “These Utibron Neohaler data show that the dual bronchodilator significantly improves and sustains bronchodilation and may improve health status and COPD symptoms in moderate-to-severe patients.”

“Utibron Neohaler has demonstrated the value of dual bronchodilation treatment for people living with COPD,” Goodin added. “The data presented at ATS indicate that Utibron Neohaler was associated with statistically significant and clinically important improvements in lung function as well as a reduction in the number of sleep disturbances and in the use of rescue medication, which may have a positive impact on patients’ quality of life.”

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