COPD is currently the fourth most common cause of death, yet up to three quarters of sufferers in Europe go undiagnosed. This suggests a major unmet need for treatment for this debilitating lung disease which often afflicts smokers. Our worldwide launch of tiotropium (Spiriva®) provided a medication to improve COPD therapy, strengthening our leading position in the bronchodilator field. This is being build up by developing bronchodilators with alternative mechanisms which additionally offer the opportunity for combination with our anticholinergic compounds.

An important advance in inhalation therapy for patients with COPD was the launch of the Spiriva® Respimate® Soft Mist™ inhaler in 2007. It represents a new class of propellant-free inhaler.

Extending our product portfolio to drugs that target treatment of the underlying inflammation and the tissue remodelling process are the key goals in our COPD research. Inflammation in COPD patients is provoked by an infiltration of the lungs by macrophages and neutrophils: It is only poorly controlled by current, widely-used anti-inflammatory drugs, such as corticosteroids. Our research in asthma is aimed at new mechanisms and immunological paradigms which would allow us to replace or reduce the doses of inhaled steroids by providing anti-inflammatory therapy better tolerated by patients. Another goal is to provide a new treatment for specific syndromes with high unmet medical need, such as severe, steroid-resistant asthma.