COPD

COPD has a devastating impact. Patients struggle with basic daily activities such as getting out of bed, showering and walking. We urgently need better treatments.

COPD is not a single disease. It covers a group of lung conditions including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. All of these conditions are characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways. Total annual direct and indirect medical costs related to COPD in the United States are approximately $50 billion. Sales of therapeutics used for chronic maintenance therapy of COPD are about $10 billion in the United States.

COPD patients are commonly treated with bronchodilators, to relieve airway constriction and make it easier to breathe, and corticosteroids, to reduce lung inflammation. More severe patients with recurrent exacerbations, sudden severe flare-ups of symptoms, are sometimes treated with an oral formulation of an anti-inflammatory PDE4 inhibitor. Despite the wide availability of these therapies, many COPD patients continue to suffer exacerbations, which are estimated to cause approximately 1.9 million emergency department visits and 740,000 hospitalizations per year in the United States alone. Furthermore, current therapies have not changed the progressive decline in lung function or reduced the mortality associated with COPD. An urgent and unmet medical need exists for new and more effective COPD treatments to reduce the number and burden of symptoms and exacerbations.