Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies, will present new data from its broad respiratory portfolio, which includes recently approved Spiolto Respimat (tiotropium/olodaterol) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Ofev (nintedanib) for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and Spiriva Respimat (tiotropium) in asthma, at the upcoming European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress, September 26-30.

“With the first approvals of Ofev and Spiolto Respimat, 2015 marks a pivotal year for the company and our ongoing commitment to developing innovative solutions for patients with respiratory diseases,” said Dr William Mezzanotte, vice president and head of respiratory medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim.

“The data to be presented at ERS 2015 add to the growing body of evidence across our portfolio and help to further characterise the efficacy and safety of our medicines to support physicians and patients alike.”

In COPD, the latest results from the Spiolto Respimat clinical trial programme include the ENERGITO phase IIIb head-to-head study investigating lung function improvements versus the long acting beta2 agonist/inhaled corticosteroid (LABA/ICS) combination salmeterol + fluticasone propionate. Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapies are only recommended by the GOLD guidelines for use in patients with more severe lung function impairment (GOLD 3/4) and at high risk of exacerbations, but they can be associated with potential serious side effects; there is therefore debate surrounding their widespread use in the management of COPD.

In addition, a sub-analysis of the recently published OTEMTO 1&2 trial results will compare quality of life benefits of Spiolto Respimat in patients at different stages of the disease. The OTEMTO 1&2 trials showed that the lung function improvements provided by Spiolto Respimat translate into symptomatic benefits and clinically meaningful quality of life improvement. Spiolto Respimat has gained approval in over 20 EU countries for use in the treatment of patients with COPD.

These trials are part of the 15,000 patient TOviTO phase III clinical trial programme investigating the efficacy and safety of Spiolto Respimat in COPD and build on the pivotal phase III TONADO trials that demonstrated Spiolto Respimat provides significant improvements in lung function, breathlessness, quality of life and reduction in rescue medication use over Spiriva Respimat.

Exacerbation history is an important stratifying parameter in COPD, and as a leader in respiratory, Boehringer Ingelheim continues analysing large pools of data from its landmark trials to investigate this key consideration. New results from a post-hoc analysis of the TIOtropium Safety and Performance In Respimat (TIOSPIR) trial will be presented to determine whether exacerbation history (greater than or equal to 1 exacerbation in the past year) and ICS use at baseline affected outcomes of patients with COPD.

Monitoring the long-term efficacy and safety of Ofev is important for a progressive disease like IPF. As IPF is a life-threatening and progressive disease, patients will be on long-term treatment to manage their disease. It is important to assess and continue to monitor the efficacy and safety of Ofev in these patients. New data from the INPULSIS extension trial (INPULSIS-ON) will be presented for the first time demonstrating that the efficacy and safety of Ofev is sustained long-term.

Further analyses from the two INPULSISpPhase III clinical trials will also be shared with the respiratory community including the effect of Ofev on slowing disease progression in patients who were taking anti-acid or corticosteroid medications at treatment baseline. Anti-acid medications are commonly given to patients with IPF to manage gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a highly prevalent condition in IPF.

Highlights from the accepted ERS abstracts include further analysis of data from the two MezzoTinA-asthma clinical trials to see whether the impact of adding Spiriva Respimat to at least ICS maintenance therapy on improvements in lung function is influenced by whether or not the patients are receiving a LTRA at baseline.

These new data will add to the existing evidence from the UniTinA-asthma large-scale, phase III clinical trial programme that has shown the efficacy and safety of Spiriva Respimat in patients with asthma who continue to experience symptoms despite treatment with at least ICS with or without LABA therapy.