GSK's Advair shows reduction in COPD exacerbations

TORONTO, RESEARCH PARK, N.C. According to new research, GlaxoSmithKline’s asthma drug Advair Diskus 250/50 demonstrated a 30 percent reduction in exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who have a history of exacerbations as compared to one of the ingredients of Advair, salmeterol alone.

The study was one of two new studies reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration prior to granting approval last month for the expanded use of Advair for the reduction of COPD exacerbations in patients with a history of exacerbations and in a broader COPD patient population, which includes patients with chronic bronchitis, emphysema or both.

Another study involving Advair showed that patients with both asthma and allergic rhinitis experienced significantly better lung function when treat with Advair compared with Merck’s asthma and allergy drug Singulair.

The study also showed patients treated with Advair plus Singulair saw no measurable improvement compared with patients treated with Advair alone in their asthma symptoms or albuterol use. In another comparison patients using Advair plus the intranasal corticosteroid, fluticasone propionate nasal spray, saw significant improvement in daytime nasal symptoms compared with patients treated with Advair plus Singulair.