Nycomed wins recognition for Daxas in international Gold guidelines

Nycomed's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drug Daxas has had its efficacy recognised in newly-published international guidelines on the condition.

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (Gold) has introduced a new section on phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors such as Daxas in the latest update to its evidence-based COPD guidelines.

In this section, the efficacy of this class of drugs in reducing levels of inflammation and related symptoms was endorsed.

Peter Calverley, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Liverpool, said this illustrates the importance of Daxas as a treatment option for COPD, which causes millions of fatalities on an annual basis.

"The Gold guidelines recognise its contribution to the management of this debilitating disease and it is important that physicians who treat COPD have this information," he added.

Daxas was launched by Nycomed in Europe last year, while the approval process by the US Food and Drug Administration remains ongoing.