More smokers quit habit with Pfizer's Champix than with placebo

Findings from a Pfizer-sponsored study, presented as late-breaker at American College of Chest Physicians annual meeting in San Diego, showed that 42.3% of smokers with mild-to-moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who took the firm's Champix (varenicline) were able to quit smoking and remain abstinent during the last four weeks of treatment (weeks 9-12) compared with 8.8% of those given placebo (p<0.0001).>

'Quitting smoking is of paramount importance for all smokers, particularly those with a smoking-related illness, such as COPD,' said Donald Tashkin, study investigator, emeritus professor of medicine at University of California, Los Angeles. 'This study shows that varenicline is an effective means of smoking cessation for a highly nicotine-dependent, difficult-to-treat group of patients. The safety profile of varenicline in this study was consistent with its pivotal clinical trials,' he noted.

Worldwide, COPD currently affects 210 million people and is expected to become the world's third leading cause of death by 2030. Around 80% to 90% of COPD cases are caused by smoking. Across European countries, prevalence of COPD ranges between 4%-10% of the adult population, although it is estimated that as many as 75% of people with COPD in Europe are undiagnosed. Approximately 200,000-300,000 people in Europe die each year as a result of COPD.

However, Pfizer's worldwide revenues from Chantix fell 15% to $155 million, and were down 22% in the USA in the third quarter of this year. The slowdown in sales may be attributable to the US Food and Drug Administration calling for  a boxed warning on the drug, drawing attention to the risk of changes in behavior, depressed mood hostility, and suicidal thoughts.