BRIEF—Bevespi gets nod in EU for COPD

The European Commission EC) has approved AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) Bevespi Aerosphere(glycopyrronium/formoterol fumarate) in a pressurised metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) as a maintenance dual bronchodilator treatment to relieve symptoms in adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Bevespi is the first medicine in its class to be approved by the EC in a pMDI and it offers COPD patients a new choice of inhaler device, but the Anglo-Swedish pharma major still faces a challenge in grabbing market share.

The company has had to accept unfavorable results in a comparison with GlaxoSmithKline’s (LSE: GSK) Anoro (umeclidinium/vilanterol) and has not seen sales for Bevespi sales take off in the USA and other markets where it is already approved, with revenue of just $10 million in the last quarter.