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'Important' clinical data for AstraZeneca
29 Jun 2006
Clinical Research
Britain's second-largest pharmaceutical firm, AstraZeneca, has confirmed that its asthma treatment Symbicort has shown significant promise in two "important" clinical studies.
Combining the drug with Pulmicort, also known as budesonide, to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), AstraZeneca found that mortality rates dropped significantly compared to those on a solo treatments of Symbicort, known also as formoterol.
Professor Paul Jones of the St George's Hospital Medical School, London, commented: "Previous studies have demonstrated that budesonide/formoterol is a very effective treatment in preventing COPD exacerbations, leading to clinically important improvements in health-related quality of life.
"Today's data are important, suggesting as it does that a combination of budesonide and formoterol may provide a tangible survival benefit as well as improving the patient's quality of life," he added.
The studies alsohighlight the link between COPD exacerbations and an "increased risk of mortality" explained professor Peter Calverley of the Aintree Chest Centre at the University of Liverpool, "reinforcing the importance of reducing these events".
Pulmicort is AstraZeneca's top respiratory drug, ahead of Symbicort, which recorded sales of $277 million (£152 million) in the first three months of the year.
Details of the studies were announced at the fifth International Multidisciplinary Conference on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Birmingham yesterday.
© Adfero Ltd
