AstraZeneca Highlights Respiratory Medicines at ATS 2016

AstraZeneca is presenting a broad selection of its novel respiratory disease medicines through more than 60 abstracts and scientific presentations at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2016 International Conference through May 18 in San Francisco, Calif.

Presentations highlight combinations, respiratory biologics, and scientific research projects that target new pathways in lung diseases that include asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

AstraZeneca boasts a growing portfolio of medicines that in 2015 reached more than 7 million patients in the fields of respiratory, inflammation and autoimmunity (RIA). The company is working to deliver up to seven new launches between 2016 and 2020. In respiratory disease, AstraZeneca aims to transform asthma and COPD treatment through inhaled combinations, precision biologics and scientific advancements.

Highlights of the ATS 2016 presentations include:

• Fourteen abstracts that focus on the unmet needs of COPD and on the company’s product Bevespi Aerosphere (glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate.) The novel dual bronchodilator pressurized metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) of fixed-dose, including the latest co-suspension technology for COPD, was recently approved by the FDA.
• Biomarker data on benralizumab – an anti-eosinophil monoclonal antibody now in Phase 3 clinical trials to treat severe asthma and COPD. The data evaluates the potential for high-baseline blood eosinophils and baseline serum biomarkers of the IL-13 pathway to predict treatment response.
• Data evaluating the effects of Daxas (roflumilast), the oral PDE4 inhibitor, on lung function and airway inflammation when initiated in addition to standard therapy with corticosteroids and antibiotics at the onset of an acute exacerbation of COPD.
• New information that highlights breakthrough scientific research, aimed at addressing and potentially changing the underlying causes of respiratory diseases. The data put focus on four biological pathways: eosinophilic disease, Th2-driven disease, epithelial-driven pathobiology and autoimmunity.

For a complete list of the company’s key presentations at ATS 2016, please visit the link.

Tom Keith-Roach, AstraZeneca’s vice president of Global Product Strategy for Respiratory, Inflammation and Autoimmunity, said in a press release that respiratory is one of AstraZeneca’s main therapy areas.

“It’s exciting that the data being shared at ATS demonstrate how rapidly our pipeline and portfolio are developing,”  Keith-Roach said. “We believe Bevespi Aerosphere and investigational medicines such as benralizumab can make a real difference in the lives of patients living with respiratory conditions worldwide.”