GSK, Theravance launch Breo Ellipta

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — A once-daily inhaler for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has become available, the makers of the inhaler said Wednesday.

GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance announced the availability of Breo Ellipta (fluticasone furoate; vilanterol), for long-term maintenance treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with COPD, a term that encompasses chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The drug is not meant for treating acute bronchospasm or asthma, the companies said.

"Patients and physicians have a new treatment option with Breo Ellipta, the first once-daily [inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta-2 agonist] for the maintenance treatment of COPD," GSK U.S. Respiratory Business Unit SVP Jorge Bartolome said. "This new option for healthcare providers to prescribe is good news for the millions of people in the United States affected by COPD."

Under a partnership between the two companies started in 2002, Theravance is making a $30 million milestone payment to GSK following the launch of the drug, which the Food and Drug Administration approved in May.