Boehringer Ingelheim on Tuesday touted results from the Phase III CanoTinA asthma trial, which showed that adding tiotropium Respimat to maintenance asthma therapy in kids ages 6-11 significantly improves lung function compared to placebo.
The results were presented Tuesday at the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2016 in London.
This comes 1 day after results from another clinical trial showed the company’s drug-device Stiolto Respimat aids patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease walk for longer periods of time without experiencing shortness breath.
The CanoTinA trial looked to investigate the use of tiotropium, a drug that helps to keep the airways to the lung open, with Respimat in kids that are already taking an inhaled corticosteroid. Respimat is not approved in the US for children under 12.
“Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease, but many children still continue to experience asthma symptoms despite taking other maintenance therapies,” Dr. Christian Vogelberg of Germany’s University Children’s Hospital Dresden said in a press release. “These new results showed significant lung function improvements for children with asthma and importantly confirm that the safety profile of tiotropium Respimat in children aged six years and above is comparable to placebo.”
Study researchers found that the safety and tolerability of the drug is comparable to the placebo, while significantly improving lung function.
Four other studies organized by Boehringer Ingelheim also show that adding tiotropium Respimat is just as safe as adding a placebo in kids ages 6-17. This clinical trial is one of 18 clinical studies from the Phase II and Phase III UniTinA-asthma clinical development program. Over 6,000 patients participated, including 1,800 children ages 1-17.
“At Boehringer Ingelheim, we have a strong commitment to scientific research with the goal of improving the care of people living with serious respiratory diseases such as asthma,” said Dr. William Mezzanotte, Vice President and Head of Respiratory Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, in prepared remarks. “Data from these studies build on the body of evidence that we have learned about tiotropium Respimat as an add-on therapy for asthma.”
