Indacaterol-glycopyrronium was also superior to salmeterol-fluticasone when it came to improvements in health status (assessed with the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire), use of rescue medication, and lung function.
The adverse event profiles of both drug combinations were essentially as expected, Dr. Wedzicha reported. Pneumonia was less common with indacaterol-glycopyrronium (3.2% vs. 4.8%).
The indacaterol-glycopyrronium formulation available in the United States, which contains lower doses of the drugs and is used twice-daily, would likely net results similar to those seen in the trial, she speculated. However, once-daily treatment is generally associated with better compliance.
The inflammatory component of COPD still needs attention, according to Dr. Wedzicha. “There is no good evidence that a LABA-LAMA is doing anything to the underlying airway inflammation ... I think a major unmet need now is novel anti-inflammatory agents,” she said.
Dr. Wedzicha disclosed that she received nonfinancial support from Novartis during the conduct of the study; grant support and personal fees from Johnson and Johnson and Vifor Pharma; grant support, personal fees, and nonfinancial support from GlaxoSmithKline, and Takeda; personal fees from Pfizer, Bayer, Chiesi, and Napp; and personal fees and nonfinancial support from Novartis, AstraZeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim outside the trial. The trial was sponsored by Novartis.