Boehringer Ingelheim publishes positive asthma trial data

Boehringer Ingelheim has published the first phase III data for its new asthma treatment tiotropium Respimat, showcasing the potential benefits of the therapy option.

Results from the PrimoTinA-asthma studies showed that tiotropium delivered by the Respimat SoftMist inhaler delivered significant improvements in lung function, while reducing exacerbations among patients.

The therapy is being trialled among asthma sufferers that remain symptomatic despite treatment with inhaled corticosteroids or long-acting beta-2 agonists.

Boehringer Ingelheim's comprehensive ongoing phase III UniTinA-asthma programme aims to deliver further positive findings about tiotropium Respimat, with more than 4,000 patients to be trialled across more than 150 sites globally.

Professor Klaus Dugi, corporate senior vice-president for medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "These first results give us confidence that tiotropium Respimat has the potential to become an important new option in asthma treatment."

Last week, it was announced that Boehringer Ingelheim's Actilyse has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence as a treatment for acute ischaemic stroke, to be administered at the earliest possible juncture.