A once-daily asthma therapy that combines three medications recently moved into a phase III study, the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has announced.
The new treatment is a dry powder inhalant that combines the corticosteroid fluticasone, the beta2-adrenergic agonist vilanterol, and the muscarinic antagonist umeclidinium.
The study will examine the new treatment’s efficacy compared with the once-daily dual combination therapy Relvar/Breo® (FF/VI).
“Despite the availability of treatments, many patients have asthma that is inadequately controlled," Dave Allen, head of Respiratory Research & Development at GlaxoSmithKline, said. "While some patients already receive triple therapy in two or more inhalers, we believe there will be real benefits from delivering the dual bronchodilators together with their inhaled steroid once a day in a single inhalation.”
GlaxoSmithKline is collaborating with Innoviva on the study.
“Closed triple therapy may provide a new once-a-day treatment option for asthma patients not adequately controlled by existing therapy," Innoviva CEO Mike Aguiar said. "If successful, this would further expand the portfolio of respiratory therapy products delivered via the Ellipta inhaler for the treatment of asthma and COPD.”
