GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) and Innoviva (NSDQ:INVA) said today that a European Medicines Agency panel recommended marketing authorization for the Trelegy Ellipta triple-combination inhaler for adults with COPD.

The device uses fluticasone furoate, umeclidinium and vilanterol to help adults with COPD who are not adequately treated by a combination of an inhaled corticosteroid and a long-acting beta2-agonist. It’s also the first once-daily single inhaler triple therapy to win a positive opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, the companies reported.

“We believe once-daily single inhaler triple therapy, if approved, would provide an important option for appropriate patients with COPD who are receiving ICS/LABA and require additional bronchodilation, avoiding the need for multiple inhalers,” GSK’s president of R&D, Patrick Vallance, said in prepared remarks.

“This positive opinion will lead to a significant therapeutic convenience for those appropriate patients already on ICS/LABA treatment that require additional bronchodilation,” Innoviva CEO Mike Aguiar added. “Trelegy is the latest development in our collaboration with GSK and is testament to our ongoing efforts to advance respiratory medicine.”

The companies said they anticipate a final decision by the European Commission by the end of this year.

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