Boehringer Ingelheim reports positive data from symptomatic asthma trials

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced clinical trial data showing the benefits of a new therapy for symptomatic asthma.

Analyses from the phase III PrimoTinA-asthma studies demonstrate that tiotropium delivered by the Respimat SoftMist Inhaler can deliver improvements for patients whose symptomatic asthma has not been addressed by inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta agonist therapy.

Boehringer Ingelheim's treatment was shown to increase time to first severe exacerbation and first episodes of asthma worsening, regardless of age, allergic status, smoking status and bronchodilator response.

This suggests it could be an important new option for asthma patients who remain symptomatic despite using the available therapeutic options.

Professor Klaus Dugi, corporate senior vice-president for medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "This programme demonstrates our commitment to profile tiotropium Respimat for the full range of asthma patients from mild to very severe across all age groups."

Earlier this month, the company expanded its new drug development capabilities via new collaborations with Oxford BioTherapeutics and the Structural Genomics Consortium.