Astrazeneca COPD treatment granted marketing authorisation in Europe

24th Nov 2014 07:06

Astrazeneca's Duaklir Genuair drug has been granted marketing authorisation by the European Commission for the treatment of adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).The approval of Duaklir was based on efficacy and safety data from more than 2,000 patients in 11 clinical studies, conducted in 29 countries worldwide.The drug, which is administered by its Genuair dry powder inhaler device, is the only combination of its type to show a statistically significant improvement in breathlessness compared to individual therapies."We are pleased to receive European regulatory approval for Duaklir Genuair as an innovative treatment for patients with COPD," the group's chief medical officer, Briggs Morrison, said."Patients need treatments that can help to improve their lung function and allow them to better manage the daily and debilitating symptoms of their condition, in turn improving their overall quality of life."Approximately 300m people have been diagnosed with COPD globally. It is a progressive and chronic disease where people find breathing difficult due to limited airflow, so improving the lung function and managing daily symptoms such as breathlessness are important to the management of COPD.