New COPD medicine launched in China

Chiesi Pharmaceuticals launched Trimbow, a medicine used to treating moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in adults, in China on May 13.

The new medication by the Italy-based multinational pharmaceutical company is poised to make a significant contribution to the management of COPD in China, where up to 13.7 percent of people over the age of 40 are affected and less than 10 percent of the general public is aware of the disease, according to the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Group of the Respiratory Branch of Chinese Medical Association.

COPD, a preventable and treatable respiratory disease, is now the third leading cause of death worldwide. It is referred to as the "silent killer" because most patients are diagnosed after irreversible lung damage is done. Furthermore, acute exacerbations of COPD can lead to severe clinical harm and an increased risk of accelerated disease progression and early death. Small airway disease, present in over 90 percent of COPD patients, is closely related to acute exacerbations.

"The chronic airflow limitation that is characteristic of COPD is caused by a mixture of SAD and parenchymal destruction, the relative contributions of which vary from person to person," said Professor Alberto Papi, chair of Respiratory Medicine in University of Ferrara in Italy. "COPD exacerbations lead to decline in lung function, increase cost, worsen health status, increase risk of hospitalization and finally increase risk of mortality."

Trimbow, the world's first extra-fine fixed dose which contains beclometasone, formoterol and glycopyrronium bromide in a single inhaler, promises to improve small airway function and reduce the incidence of moderate to severe acute exacerbations in COPD patients by up to 50 percent, according to a Phase III clinical trial published in Respiratory Research in 2021.

Approved by China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in April 2022, Trimbow has been accepted into the 2022 National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL).