GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said findings from a study of more than 4,000 asthma patients in London showed the new drug Relvar Ellipta bested competitors in alleviating symptoms.
GSK, the drug’s manufacturer, released the results in a May 5 release documenting outcomes from the Salford Lung Study (SLS). Among patients who took Relvar Ellipta, 71 percent showed improvement on the asthma control test versus slightly over half of those who took corticosteroids alone or with other medications.
Researchers connected with the study hailed the findings as a breakthrough for asthma sufferers.
“Despite medical advances, more than half of patients with asthma continue to experience poor control and significant symptoms,” Eric Dube, a senior vice president with GSK, said in the release. “The primary endpoint of this study showed that patients initiated with Relvar Ellipta treatment had twice the odds of achieving an improvement in asthma control compared with patients continuing usual care in this study in everyday clinical practice.”
Ashley Woodcock, a respiratory medicine professor at the University of Manchester and a chief researcher on the project, said the findings lend credibility to the Salford study’s design, which allowed treatment to change over the course of the experiment.
“The effectiveness of different treatments on asthma control is difficult to investigate in a traditional double-blind randomized control trial, where the study design and intrusive monitoring can influence the behavior of patients,” Woodcock said in the release. “In SLS, patient relevant outcomes are the major endpoints."
“GSK should be congratulated for running this unique study designed to understand how asthma medicines work in everyday clinical practice," Woodcock said in the release.
