Sunovion Pharmaceuticals and the American College of Chest Physicians yesterday launched a strategic initiative called Delivery Makes a Difference to better understand patient and healthcare provider practices in COPD therapy.

A series of “nationally recognized COPD thought leaders” came together to be a part of the steering committee for the initiative. They developed a survey for 1,000 patients and providers to assess drug-device prescription habits. The team also hopes to gain insight into perception disparities between patients and healthcare providers.

The survey results will be used to create educational materials for providers to use when making decisions about a patient’s individual treatment regimen.

“When 1st-line treatments fail to achieve their desired effect, healthcare providers often prescribe additional medications, failing to consider that the way the medicine has been delivered may be a significant issue,” Dr. Nicola Hanania, chair of the Delivery Makes a Difference steering committee, said in prepared remarks. “The Delivery Makes a Difference initiative hopes to provide important data to support the crucial step of choosing appropriate delivery devices for individual patients.”

“The American College of Chest Physicians believes that a comprehensive approach to the patient’s needs is essential to optimal treatment of COPD,” added Dr. John Alexander, president of CHEST Enterprises. “Great patient care extends beyond the molecule, considering patient ability, delivery systems and ongoing doctor/patient communication.”

“Sunovion is proud to be working with CHEST to facilitate this important discussion with health care providers and patients about the role of delivery devices for COPD medications,” Sunovion executive VP & chief medical officer Dr. Antony Loebel said. “We look forward to sharing the data from this survey with health care providers and to providing meaningful educational programs for patients.”