GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and Theravance, Inc. (NASDAQ: THRX) announced the submission of regulatory applications in the US and European Union for the once-daily investigational medicine fluticasone furoate "FF"/vilanterol "VI" (FF/VI) for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a regulatory application for asthma in the European Union.
European Submission
A Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for FF/VI, with the proposed brand name Relvar™, administered by a new dry powder inhaler called Ellipta™, has been submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the following indications:
Asthma (100/25mcg and 200/25mcg): The regular treatment of asthma in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older, where use of a combination product (long-acting beta2-agonist and inhaled corticosteroid) is appropriate.
COPD (100/25mcg): The symptomatic treatment of patients with COPD with a FEV1 <70% predicted normal (post-bronchodilator) in patients with an exacerbation history.
US Submission
A New Drug Application (NDA) for FF/VI, with the proposed brand name Breo™, administered by the Ellipta™ inhaler, has been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for the following indication:
COPD (100/25mcg): The long-term once-daily maintenance treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with COPD, including chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema and to reduce exacerbations of COPD in patients with a history of exacerbations.
For asthma, GSK and Theravance are reviewing the strategy for a future US filing.
FF/VI is one of several late-stage assets in the GSK respiratory development portfolio, which also includes the investigational LAMA/LABA combination umeclidinium bromide/vilanterol (UMEC/VI),VI monotherapy and MABA (GSK961081), developed in collaboration with Theravance, as well as GSK's investigational medicines FF monotherapy, UMEC monotherapy and anti-IL5 MAb (mepolizumab).
Relvar™ or Breo™ (FF/VI and previously referred to as Relovair™) is an investigational medicine and is not currently approved anywhere in the world. Relovair™, Relvar™, Breo™ and Ellipta™ are trademarks of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies. The use of these brand names is not approved by regulatory authorities around the world.
GlaxoSmithKline - one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies - is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
Theravance - is a biopharmaceutical company with a pipeline of internally discovered product candidates and strategic collaborations with pharmaceutical companies. Theravance is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule medicines across a number of therapeutic areas including respiratory disease, bacterial infections, and central nervous system (CNS)/pain. Theravance's key programs include: Relvar™/Breo™, LAMA/LABA (UMEC/VI) and MABA (Bifunctional Muscarinic Antagonist-Beta2 Agonist), each partnered with GlaxoSmithKline plc, and its oral Peripheral Mu Opioid Receptor Antagonist (PμMA) program. By leveraging its proprietary insight of multivalency to drug discovery, Theravance is pursuing a best-in-class strategy designed to discover superior medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need.