Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

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.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Tuesday August 09 2016, @12:46PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Tuesday August 09 2016, @12:46PM (#385740) Journal

    an increase in asthma suffering, possibly leading to death....

    I guess we'll have to wait a few years to hear the commercials here in Canada, but i just love it when the side affects are worse than the disease being cured.

    Restless leg? Take a pill that can seriously harm you or kill you, or.... drumroll... drink tonic water. The quinine in it is a muscle relaxant.

    Tada!

    But that won't make the drug companies rich, so.......

    Why do we need 'new and improved' when what we have works.
    When my asthma acts up, i drink Buckleys mixture: others use inhalers.

    When i clean, i use vinegar, baking soda, that kind of thing. Was great for generations, but now we need "New and improved Mr. Clean Super whama jamma cleaner", that is toxic to the environment.
    Why? Because it makes the company richer.
    KISS, people!

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3