Major study confirms Novartis' Ultibro Breezhaler superiority over Seretide in preventing COPD exacerbations
Ultibro Breezhaler also significantly reduced the rate and prolonged the time to the first moderate or severe exacerbation, compared with Seretide.
Novartis has announced the New England Journal of Medicine publication of the head-to-head FLAME study comparing the efficacy of once-daily Ultibro Breezhaler (indacaterol/glycopyrronium bromide) 110/50 mcg to twice-daily Seretide (salmeterol/fluticasone [SFC]) 50/500 mcg in reducing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. In addition to meeting the primary endpoint (non-inferiority), findings demonstrated the superiority of Ultibro Breezhaler over the widely used inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/LABA combination on exacerbation outcomes. The published FLAME results are anticipated to impact the future management and treatment of COPD patients.
Preventing exacerbations is one of the primary goals of long-term care for COPD patients. These episodes have a detrimental effect on quality of life and disease progression, contributing to further lung function decline and, in severe cases, hospitalization and even death.
"Reducing exacerbations is absolutely critical to improve outcomes and quality of life for COPD patients," said Vasant Narasimhan, Global Head Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer for Novartis. "The FLAME study has clearly shown that Ultibro Breezhaler is superior to the current standard of care in reducing exacerbations, marking a shift away from therapies containing steroids for the optimal treatment of COPD patients."
The results of FLAME confirmed that Ultibro Breezhaler is superior to SFC in reducing exacerbation outcomes regardless of a patient's disease severity and eosinophil levels (a type of white blood cell). Significantly, compared with SFC, Ultibro Breezhaler both reduced the rate of moderate or severe exacerbations with a 17% risk reduction (rate ratio, 0.83), and prolonged the time to the first of these episodes with a 22% risk reduction (hazard ratio, 0.78). The safety profiles of the two treatments were consistent with their known profiles. The incidence of pneumonia was higher with SFC than Ultibro Breezhaler (3.2% vs 4.8%: a statistically significant difference).
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