GSK's Breo/Relvar Ellipta shows significant potential in COPD, study shows

UK pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and its US partner Innoviva have had a boost in their development of Breo Ellipta (fluticasone furoate/vilanterol or FF/VI 100/25mcg) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Positive results have been presented from a Phase III study on the treatment – which is known as Relvar Ellipta outside the USA – at the European Respiratory Society International Congress (ERS) and at in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The results from the Salford Lung Study (SLS), which reported headline findings in May, show that for the primary endpoint in patients, who had exacerbated in the year before the study and were treated with Breo Ellipta 100/25mcg, there was a statistically significant reduction of 8.4% in the rate of moderate or severe exacerbations compared with patients receiving usual care.