Glycopyrronium bromide for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Glycopyrronium bromide is a new long-acting muscarinic antagonist to be used once-daily, which is approved as a bronchodilator for the symptomatic maintenance treatment of adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the Glycopyrronium bromide in chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease airWays trials, treatment with inhaled glycopyrronium bromide at 50 μg once daily achieved a significantly better lung function than placebo, as measured by the trough forced expiratory volume in 1 s in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD. The lung function improvement was maintained for up to 52 weeks. Other improved indexes were dyspnea scores, health status, exacerbation rates and time of exercise endurance. Studies comparing the efficacy of glycopyrronium versus tiotropium bromide found substantial equivalence of the two drugs. Glycopyrronium was generally well tolerated. These data add inhaled glycopyrronium bromide to the treatment of patients with moderate to severe COPD as an effective once-daily LAMA.

Keywords:

• COPD
• efficacy
• glycopyrronium bromide
• muscarinic antagonists
• safety
• treatment

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Key issues

• Glycopyrronium bromide is a novel long-acting antimuscarinic agent to be used, once-daily, in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD.

• A series of controlled trials demonstrated a significant efficacy of glycopyrronium compared with placebo in terms of lung function, dyspnea scores, health status, exacerbation rates and exercise endurance time.

• Trials comparing glycopyrronium to tiotropium bromide once daily showed a substantial equivalence of the two drugs in COPD patients concerning efficacy, safety and tolerability.

• The faster onset of action of glycopyrronium compared with tiotropium facilitates the perception of efficacy by patients that is likely to positively influence the adherence to treatment.