Fluticasone furoate and vilanterol for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Current national and international guidelines for the management of patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) recommend the use of inhaled long-acting bronchodilators, inhaled glucocorticoids and their combinations for maintenance treatment of moderate to severe stable COPD.

Areas covered: The role of fluticasone furoate (FF) and vilanterol (VI) once daily combination therapy for the regular treatment of patients with stable COPD is discussed in this review.

Expert commentary: The regular treatment of moderate to severe stable COPD with once daily FF/VI combination therapy is effective, as seen in in several large placebo-controlled clinical trials involving many thousands of patients. FF/VI improved lung function, decreased respiratory symptoms and decreased the number of COPD exacerbations, including COPD-related hospitalizations. FF/VI combination therapy has also been approved for this indication in most countries. The use of this combination therapy may significantly decrease the economic costs for some National Health Services.

KEYWORDS:

• COPD
• bronchodilators
• inhaled glucocorticoids
• airway inflammation
• beta2-agonists

Declaration of interests

Research by GC is supported by the University of Messina, Italy. GC has received in the last 48 months unrestricted educational grants and/or speaker and/or expert testimony honoraria from the pharmaceutical companies Astra-Zeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, GSK and Menarini that are selling FF/VI in the market (GSK and Menarini) and/or selling other drugs for the treatment of stable COPD. All these grants or honoraria were less of 5000 euro value. None of these pharmaceutical companies had any influence on the content of this review. Research by IMA and KFC is supported by the EU (IMI, project number 115010) and the MRC-ABPI COPD-MAP consortium (G1001367/1). IMA is also supported by Wellcome Trust grant 093080/Z/10/Z and by the Dunhill Medical Trust. IMA and KFC are PIs in the MRC/Asthma UK Centre for Asthma and Allergic Mechanisms and are supported by the NIHR Respiratory Disease Biomedical Research Unit at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College London, UK. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of their NHS, their National Institute for Health Research or their Hospital/Department of Health. The authors have no other 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 apart from those disclosed.

Additional information

Funding

This manuscript has not funded.