Novartis’ Ultibro Breezhaler shows benefits over standard of care

Novartis has announced new clinical trial data showing the benefits its product Ultibro Breezhaler can offer compared to another established chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) therapy.

According to data from the head-to-head study LANTERN, once-daily Ultibro Breezhaler was superior in reducing exacerbations and improving lung function compared to the current standard of care.

The Novartis product significantly reduced the rate of moderate-to-severe exacerbations by 31 percent compared to the alternative, while the safety profile of the therapy was also shown to be comparable.

These findings support the use of Ultibro Breezhaler as an alternative steroid-free treatment to established options.

Vasant Narasimhan, global head of development of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said: "These new results from Lantern provide further evidence of the potential of Ultibro Breezhaler to deliver better exacerbation reduction and improvements in lung function, compared to the current standard of care."

The once-daily therapy was approved as a maintenance bronchodilator treatment to relieve symptoms in adult COPD patients in Europe and Japan last year.