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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday August 09 2016, @07:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the breathing-easier dept.

The Telegraph reports: First new asthma pill in 20 years hailed as 'wonder drug' by sufferers

The new drug, called Fevipiprant, works by stopping inflammatory cells getting into the airways while also repairing damage to prevent attacks. It is likely to halve the number of severe attacks, and potentially save hundreds of lives each year. Asthma charities said the new medication showed 'massive promise,' while sufferers trialing the drug said it had changed their lives.

"A unique feature of this study was how it included measurements of symptoms, lung function using breathing tests, sampling of the airway wall, and CT scans of the chest to give a complete picture of how the new drug works," said Professor Christopher Brightling, Clinical Professor in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leicester. "Most treatments might improve some of these features of disease, but with Fevipiprant improvements were seen with all of the types of tests"

[...] The drug, which is produced by the pharmaceutical company Novaratis[sic. Novartis], is now in phase three trials. Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK, said: "This research shows massive promise and should be greeted with cautious optimism. "More research is needed and we're a long way off seeing a pill for asthma being made available over the pharmacy counter, but it's an exciting development and one which, in the long term, could offer a real alternative to current treatments."

But in an additional quote reported in the Guardian, Brightling seems to indicate more optimism than Walker for a quick turnaround: 'If further trials confirm the drug's potential, it could become available to patients on prescription from a doctor in "more than two but less than three years' time"'. If you want to get an idea of significance of a 'phase three trial', the NHS has an overview of phases one to four.

Additional Coverage:

pharmatimes.com,
The Lancet , and
abstract on PubMed.


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  • (Score: 2) by jdavidb on Tuesday August 09 2016, @12:37PM

    by jdavidb (5690) on Tuesday August 09 2016, @12:37PM (#385735) Homepage Journal
    Well, crud. I do appreciate you bringing me back down to reality here, even though it sucks because as a serious asthma sufferer I would certainly love to see a wonder drug. But I want to know about the kinds of things you mention here, so that I don't get my expectations up too high (for more than a couple seconds, however).
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  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday August 09 2016, @04:57PM

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Tuesday August 09 2016, @04:57PM (#385843) Journal

    Doesn't James 5:15 say to pray when you're sick (implying to exclude earthly medicine)? Besides, you'd be letting doctors RULE over you, and we can't have THAT! Maybe God INTENDED you to have this asthma, did you ever think of that? It could be your cross to bear.

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    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 2) by jdavidb on Tuesday August 09 2016, @05:44PM

      by jdavidb (5690) on Tuesday August 09 2016, @05:44PM (#385873) Homepage Journal
      I do pray when I'm sick, and I don't think it follows from that that this means not using medicine, especially since Luke was a physician.
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      • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday August 09 2016, @06:53PM

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Tuesday August 09 2016, @06:53PM (#385908) Journal

        Luke and James would have Had Words With One Another (TM) then. Nice try, but you're deflecting: there is either a contradiction here, Luke vs. James, or one (or both, hell) of those is a forgery. Oooooops!

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        • (Score: 2) by jdavidb on Tuesday August 09 2016, @07:21PM

          by jdavidb (5690) on Tuesday August 09 2016, @07:21PM (#385919) Homepage Journal
          False dichotomy.
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          • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday August 09 2016, @09:18PM

            by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Tuesday August 09 2016, @09:18PM (#385972) Journal

            Nope :) Sorry, but it really isn't, much as you want it to be. Don't worry, though; that anthology of murder, torture, incest, rape, and genocide is FULL of stuff like that.

            I always did wonder what the point of praying to an omniscient and absolutely-sovereign being who exists outside the normal spacetime continuum was though. Especially since he supposedly has a Divine Plan (TM). Unless it was part of the Divine Plan (TM) to make you grovel? But this raises issues with the concept of free will...

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            I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
            • (Score: 4, Touché) by jdavidb on Tuesday August 09 2016, @09:25PM

              by jdavidb (5690) on Tuesday August 09 2016, @09:25PM (#385974) Homepage Journal
              It's weird that you are trying to persuade a religious fundamentalist that there's only one way of viewing that passage, and no alternative viewpoints are valid. Wouldn't you think it would be the other way around?
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