Daxas (Roflumilast) included as a new treatment option in latest international COPD guidelines

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) has included roflumilast (Daxas®) as a new treatment option in its COPD management guidelines. A section on the new class, phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors, describes the efficacy of roflumilast in patients with COPD. ‘The Global Strategy for Diagnosis, Management and Prevention of COPD’, provides evidence-based guidelines for COPD management and is updated annually by a committee of leading COPD experts. In the latest edition, PDE4 inhibitors have been added as a new treatment class.

The guidelines acknowledge that the principal action of PDE4 inhibitors is to reduce inflammation and its clinical implications in COPD patients. It states: «In patients with Stage III: Severe COPD or Stage IV: Very Severe COPD and a history of exacerbations and chronic bronchitis, the phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor, roflumilast, reduces exacerbations treated with oral glucocorticosteroids. These effects are also seen when roflumilast is added to long-acting bronchodilators.»(1)

Professor Calverley added, Studies have shown that the PDE4 inhibitor, roflumilast, significantly reduces exacerbations. The GOLD guidelines recognise its contribution to the management of this debilitating disease and it is important that physicians who treat COPD have this information.

Daxas has been approved in the European Union and in Canada recently. It has been launched in Germany, Denmark and UK, and is scheduled to be launched in other markets in 2011.