COPD

COPD is an umbrella term for a group of lung diseases which include chronic bronchitis, emphysema and small airways disease. COPD is a chronic disorder characterised by a slowly progressive decline in lung function caused by airflow obstruction.

• In 2004, 11.4 million U.S. adults (aged 18 and over) were estimated to have COPD.
• COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in America, claiming the lives of 122,283. The number of women dying from COPD has surpassed the number seen in men (in 2003, over 63,000 women died of COPD in the USA compared to 59,000 males).
• Predicted to be 3rd commonest global cause of death (2010).
• Only common cause of death to have increased in last 40 years.
• The primary cause of COPD is cigarette smoking.
• There is currently no effective disease-modifying treatment available for COPD.
• Increasing levels of indoor pollution may also play an important role. In this regard, a recent report* has indicated that if current levels of smoking and biomass and coal fuel use in homes continues, between 2003 and 2033 there will be an estimated 65 million deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in China, accounting for 19% of all deaths in that country during this period.

* Harvard School of Public Health Report. October 4, 2008.; Smoking and Solid-Fuel-Burning in Homes in China Projected to Cause Millions of Deaths from Respiratory Diseases in Next Three Decades.

Asthma

• With 100-150 million people with asthma world-wide, the WHO (World Health Organisation) estimate that 220,000 people die from asthma each year. Each year in the United States 150,000 children are hospitalised by their asthma and almost 5,000 children die from their condition.
• Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalisation among children under the age of 15 and it is the first-ranking chronic condition in children.
• 10% of the population are asthmatics.
• Of the 5.2 million people with asthma in the UK, 2.6 million have severe symptoms 1 in 6 people with severe asthma symptoms report weekly attacks so that they cannot speak – this equates to 430,000 people.
• The cost of asthma in the United States in 1990 was 6.2 billion dollars and in 1998 was 12.7 billion dollars. The estimated annual cost of treating asthma in those under 18 years of age is $3.2 billion.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

• CF is an inherited life-threatening disease involving a genetic mutation that disrupts the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) protein, resulting in poorly hydrated, thickened mucous secretions in the lungs and digestive tract.
• Due to these changes, the lungs of individuals with cystic fibrosis are colonized and infected by bacteria from an early age. This leads to progressive and severe lung inflammation which is difficult to treat.
• Inhaled corticosteroids do not offer significant benefits in the treatment of lung inflammation in patients with CF.
• New treatment options to control lung inflammation and infection in CF are urgently required.

The Respivert Approach

Currently, the most significant barrier to the development of effective therapeutic agents for severe asthma, Cystic Fibrosis and COPD is the progressive inflammation which is frequently refractory to the anti inflammatory effects of inhaled corticosteroids. Respivert has identified three therapeutic approaches which address this problem and is undertaking small molecule drug discovery programs which offer completely new treatment prospects for patients with severe lung diseases “beyond inhaled corticosteroids”.