DefinedHealth

Tim Joslin, Managing Director, Europe

COPD is the 4th leading cause of death in the US, with more women than men dying from the disease. The WHO predicts COPD to be the 5th leading burden of worldwide disease by 2020. Epidemiological estimates show over 12m US citizens having been diagnosed with COPD, although the true prevalence of persons with reduced lung function maybe as much as double this figure. The annual cost of treating US COPD patients in 2007 was $42.6 Billion – inclusive of $26.7 Billion in direct healthcare expenditures. Currently smoking cessation and oxygen therapy have demonstrated the best / only improvements in morbidity and mortality within sub-groups of the overall COPD population. Seeking improved detection and novel pharmacological approaches will help address major unmet needs and reduce the economic burden on healthcare systems around the world.

COPD is classified as a “preventable and treatable” disease to underscore the key aspects of modifying behavior in order to mitigate risk, as well as to increase awareness of the need for symptomatic management that can help improve the lives of patients. However, COPD remodeled lung passageways that limit airflow are not fully reversible simply with cessation of smoking. There is ample evidence for the role of inflammation arising from noxious insults to the lung tissue such as by smoking or pollution, and a multitude of immunological components as well as genetic predispositions have been implicated, which, while having some pathways in common with asthma, are distinct. Some significant extrapulmonary effects may contribute to the severity in individual patients — in fact, the heterogeneity of COPD patients, along with various related co-morbidities such as cardio-metabolic disease, suggests the need for thoughtful drug development that takes into account distinct subpopulations.  This Insight Series briefing will look at the current understanding of the immunological mechanisms underlying COPD and highlight novel therapies in development that could realize major advances in treatment of COPD. We will explore these questions, among others:

• What are the prospects for cytokines (TNFα), chemokines (CXCL8), lipid mediators (LTB4), T cells (TH1, TC1, TH17) the treatment of
• COPD? Will new PDE-4’s live up to their promise?
• Is there a place for gene therapy in the treatment of COPD?
• Will increased use of Chantix/Champix and other smoking cessation therapies reduce the increasing prevalence of the disease, or will the co-morbidity of depression reduce its potential in the COPD population?
• Can anti-TNFα approaches ever realistically work in a population plagued by exacerbations brought on by bouts of infection?

Come and hear what’s upcoming in the future of COPD treatment, join in the dialogue with other senior executives, and consider whether your company might wish to invest further in this exciting and commercially interesting therapeutic space.