The burden of respiratory disease
Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are serious public health problems, which despite of the range of available treatment options are not optimally controlled. According to the estimates of the World Health Organisation (WHO) around 300 million people have asthma1 and 210 million people suffer from COPD worldwide2.
These conditions have a significant impact on people’s quality of life by affecting the most essential function: the ability to breathe.
Asthma – a growing problem
Asthma, a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways, leads to the recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing, particularly in the morning and at night. It affects people of all ages, placing significant limitations on their lives and is sometimes fatal3. Asthma is under-diagnosed and under-treated and the prevalence is increasing in most countries1,3.
Although asthma cannot be cured, appropriate management can control the disease. However many patients are uncontrolled (non-compliance rates vary from 16-50%) as existing treatments are not always taken optimally4.
Asthma also represents a significant burden for the healthcare systems. The total cost of asthma in Europe is €17.7bn per year, and productivity lost to poor control of this condition is estimated at €9.8bn per annum5.
COPD – a leading cause of death
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is characterised by a progressive and disabling deterioration in lung function. The typical symptoms of COPD include persistent cough, chest tightness, shortness of breath and sputum production6. These symptoms are often distressing, severely restricting a patient’s ability to perform normal daily activities6. In many cases COPD is fatal. Approximately 200,000–300,000 people die each year in Europe because of this condition7. Among respiratory diseases, COPD is the leading cause of lost work days. In Europe, productivity losses due to COPD amount to a total of €28.5 billion annually7.
By 2020, COPD is likely to account for over 6 million deaths worldwide every year, making it the third leading cause of death7.
Mundipharma’s commitment to respiratory disease
Mundipharma is committed to building its presence in respiratory disease, particularly in asthma and COPD. The principle driving Mundipharma’s research in these two areas is to address three cornerstones of treatment:
· Quick relief of the distressing symptoms
· Lasting control of these symptoms
· Simple and consistent delivery system that patients are able to effectively use
Mundipharma respiratory pipeline
The key steps towards Mundipharma's position in the respiratory arena is the development of a new combination therapy for asthma, Flutiform®, bringing together fluticasone propionate, an inhaled corticosteroid, with formoterol fumarate, a long-acting β2 agonist. Flutiform® will initially be available in an aerosol delivery system.
References
1. WHO Factsheet on asthma, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs307/en/index.html. Accessed September 2010.
2. WHO Factsheet on COPD http://www.who.int/respiratory/copd/en/. Accessed September 2010.
3. Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Report, Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention, updated 2009, available at http://www.ginasthma.com/Guidelineitem.asp??l1=2&l2=1&intId=1561. Accessed September 2010.
4. Chrystyn H, Price D. Not all asthma inhalers are the same: factors to consider when prescribing an inhaler. Primary are Respiratory Journal (2009); 18(4): 243-249
5. European Federation of Allergy and Airway Disease Patient Association, available at http://www.efanet.org/asthma/index.html, Accessed August 2010
6. European COPD Patient Manifesto, available at http://www.efanet.org/copd/documents/manifesto-eng_000.pdf. Accessed September 2010.
7. European Lung Foundation, http://www.european-lung-foundation.org/index.php?id=63. Accessed September 2010.