Treatment with Novartis’ Ultibro Breezhaler significantly boosted lung and cardiac function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with lung hyperinflation, trial findings show.

Lung hyperinflation, a common occurrence in people with COPD, has been linked to impaired cardiac function and a worsening of COPD symptoms, especially breathlessness.

The CLAIM study - the first study to investigate the effects of dual bronchodilation on cardiac function and lung hyperinflation - met its primary endpoint, showing that treatment with Ultibro Breezhaler (indacaterol/glycopyrronium) led to decreased lung hyperinflation and improvements in cardiac function versus placebo after 14 days of treatment.

This, says Novartis, translated into clinically relevant patient benefits of improved health status and breathlessness, which were studied as exploratory endpoints.

"The publication of the CLAIM study is important for any COPD patient with signs of lung hyperinflation. For the first time, we demonstrated that treatment with Ultibro Breezhaler can reduce lung hyperinflation and improve cardiac function, breathlessness and health status,” said Shreeram Aradhye, chief medical officer and global head of Medical Affairs for Novartis.