Boehringer Ingelheim’s Striverdi Respimat receives EU approval

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced that its new chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) therapy Striverdi (olodaterol) Respimat has received its first approvals in Europe.

The drug has been ratified for sale in the UK, Denmark and Iceland based on positive data from phase III clinical trials, showing it can provide fast and sustained improvements in lung function when given in addition to usual care in patients with moderate to very severe COPD.

Lung function improvements associated with the once-daily therapy resulted in a higher number of COPD patients achieving clinically meaningful improvements in quality of life terms compared to usual care alone.

A further phase III clinical trial programme to assess the efficacy and safety of a once-daily fixed-dose combination of tiotropium plus olodaterol delivered via the Respimat inhaler is now underway.

Professor Klaus Dugi, corporate senior vice-president for medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "We are very pleased with these results and are committed to bringing Striverdi Respimat to patients worldwide who need an additional treatment option."

This comes after the company filed for European regulatory approval of its new lung cancer therapy nintedanib last week.