A new wonder drug which eases chronic bronchitis will be available from GPs within months after being developed by a Liverpool-based professor it has emerged.
Daxas was proven to reduce the frequency and severity of attacks by almost 40 per cent following clinical trials among 4,500 patients in ten countries.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - also known as smokers' cough - kills one person worldwide every 15 seconds.
The World Health Organization predicts that it will be the third leading cause of death by 2030.
Daxas will be available from a doctor or via a prescription as a once daily oral tablet.
It is the first oral anti-inflammatory once-daily treatment for COPD patients and works by targeting cells and mediators in the body important in the COPD disease process.
Acting on the underlying mechanism of the disease and related inflammatory diseases it is the first oral anti-inflammatory treatment for patients.
Current treatment includes the use of inhaled dilators and inhaled steroids.
Yesterday Peter Calverley, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Liverpool, and Honorary Consultant Physician at University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, and lead investigator in the roflumilast clinical programme said:
''This EU filing for Daxas is an important milestone in our response to the COPD epidemic.
''The prospect of a new approach targeting the inflammatory processes in COPD is good news for doctors as it will bring a new dimension to the therapeutic armoury we have to tackle this disease, and for patients themselves, who will have the possibility of reducing the number of debilitating exacerbations that they experience.''
Anders Ullman, Executive Vice President Research and Development at Nycomed, said: ''Nycomed is excited about the positive opinion of the CHMP recommending approval of Daxas in the European Union.
''Daxas is the first in a new class of oral agents to treat this life-threatening condition, offering clinicians and patients a much needed new treatment option alongside existing inhaled therapies.''
The placebo-controlled trials demonstrated reductions in the number and severity of flare-ups of between 15 and 37 per cent.
Patients also displayed significant improvements in their lung function and the drug also delayed the on-set of coughing attacks.
In the six-month studies, Daxas treatment resulted in a reduction of up to 40% in the number of patients experiencing attacks compared with those using standard treatment.
COPD is an under-diagnosed progressive lung disease that may lead to death.
Current medications for COPD such as inhalers address the symptoms rather than the underlying mechanisms of the disease, by reducing chronic inflammation of lung tissue.
Daxas's makers believe their tablet will work from the inside out by blocking an enzyme that helps to cause inflammation of lungs, meaning the patient coughs less frequently and is less prone to deadly chest infections.
COPD 'lung attacks' are sudden worsenings of the condition, when patients find it hard to breathe.
Patients say it feels like they are suffocating and the attacks can have long-lasting effects on their health-related quality of life.
Its only side-effects were mild nausea, diarrhoea and weightloss but usually disappeared after a few weeks of treatment.
Current treatment for COPD patients includes the use of inhaled bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids.
LAVINIA CURLEY, ENNISKILLEN around 10 months, 3 weeks ago