A new study determined the effects of a combined dose of aclidinium bromide and formoterol fumarate reduced symptoms and exacerbation rates in moderate to severe COPD patients. According to a Lung Disease News report, therapy with aclidinium bromide combined with formoterol fumarate, a long-acting ?2- agonist, was shown to improve the lung function of COPD patients. Presently, it is the standard treatment in Europe as a maintenance treatment, although the impact on COPD symptoms and exacerbations remains unknown.
In the new study, the authors determined the effects of the combination therapy by reviewing data from ACLIFORM and AUGMENT, two randomized Phase III clinical studies. The total population of intervened patients included 3,394 patients who were more than 40-years-old and experiencing moderate to severe COPD. The researchers found that the aclidinium/formoterol given at a dosage of 400/12 ?g delivered twice a day considerably improved patients dyspnea when compared to both placebo-control and monotherapies.
In addition, the research team observed that during the 24-week treatment, patients also exhibited improvements in daily symptom severity and were less limited in their daily activities with the combined aclidinium/formoterol therapy, as indicated on the Lung Disease News report. The Healthcare Resource Utilization (HCRU) test and daily symptoms were also reduced in this group in contrast to the placebo control group. However, no differences were observed in HCRU when compared to the monotherapy groups.
The Lung Disease News report notes the research team highlights that their findings show that the combined therapy aclidinium/formoterol at 400/12 ?g is efficient and significantly improves COPD patients’ early symptoms while reducing the frequency of exacerbations.
Source: Lung Disease News
