COPD treatments

Published: 2010-12-02

An estimated 210 million people worldwide suffer from congestive obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, and it is projected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020.

Seretide is the biggest selling drug, earning just under Euros 5.8 billion last year, while Spiriva earned Euros 2.4 billion.

Nycomed’s Daxas (roflumilast) is the first in a new class of anti-inflammatory treatments for severe COPD. Administration as a once-daily pill makes it patient friendly. The drug is a selective, long-acting inhibitor of the PDE-4 enzyme and targets cells and mediators in the body believed to be important in COPD and other inflammatory diseases.

The phase III drug has been approved and was recently launched in Germany. It will be launched in eight additional European countries by the end of this year, and is scheduled to be launched in other markets during 2011.

www.nycomed.com