AirFluSal® Forspiro® showed superiority at 12 months over Seretide® Diskus®[1] in persistence to treatment

Novartis International AG / AirFluSal® Forspiro® showed superiority at 12 months over Seretide® Diskus®[1] in persistence to treatment . Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

• New study shows that rate of patient persistence using Sandoz AirFluSal Forspiro is twice as high as for reference product Seretide® Diskus®.
   

Study highlights importance of improving treatment "persistence" over time for long-term respiratory diseases.
 

Analysis, published in leading medical journal, is largest European Real-World Evidence study ever conducted in asthma and COPD.

[1] Seretide^® and Diskus^® are registered trademarks owned by Glaxo Group Ltd.

Holzkirchen, August 31, 2016 - New data just published in a leading medical journal shows for the first time that the rate of treatment persistence for patients using the innovative Sandoz AirFluSal Forspiro respiratory inhaler is more than twice as high as for the reference product. 

Persistence to treatment is defined as the duration of time from initiation to discontinuation of treatment [1]. Dr. Bruce Bender, the lead author on the paper, said: "COPD and asthma are long term diseases requiring long-term, persistent adherence to therapy. While adherence has been widely studied to date, a growing awareness of the large number of patients who abandon their asthma treatment suggests that persistence to treatment may be more relevant for longer-term outcomes." 

Poor persistence to treatment rates are likely to result in poor outcomes including disease exacerbations, reduced quality of life, hospitalization, increased mortality, increased burden on the healthcare system and high economic costs [2],[3],[4]. Relatively few studies have investigated persistence in patients taking inhaled therapies, but those that have report sub-optimal rates in these patients [5],[6],[7].

The results are reported in the latest edition of the leading Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. The comparative analysis study is the largest European Real-World Evidence (RWE) study ever conducted in asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

The study, entitled "Comparative analysis of persistence to treatment among patients with asthma or COPD receiving AirFluSal^® Forspiro^® or Seretide^® Diskus^® salmeterol / fluticasone propionate combination therapy", concluded that patients using the Sandoz device showed a persistence rate of 22.9%, compared to 10.5% for those using the reference product device.