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GSK's drug 'benefits' African American asthma patients

11 Jun 2008

Clinical Research

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced results from a study of its combination drug, Seretide/Advair Diskus, which show it has "important benefits" for African American asthma patients, including fewer night-time awakenings.

The UK-based pharmaceutical company administered the treatment to 475 patients in the year-long study and found that they experienced fewer daily symptoms associated with the condition, did not have to use their inhalers as much and did not wake up during the night due to asthma as often as they usually would.

William Bailey, lead author and director of the Lung Health Centre at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, commented: "Uncontrolled asthma is a critical public health issue for African Americans, and this research is reassuring for clinicians whose patients are not controlled on an ICS [inhaled corticosteroid] alone that treatment with salmeterol/fluticasone [Seretide/Advair Diskus] propionate helps improve day-to-day asthma control."

GSK recently paid Epic Pharmaceuticals $5.5 million (£2.8 million) for reaching a key milestone in a jointly run discovery programme.