Australian sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), one of the most important causes of breathlessness and difficulty performing tasks of normal daily life, have the opportunity to participate in a worldwide study, starting this month, assessing a potential new treatment.

With more than two million Australians suffering from COPD, the financial costs associated with the disorder are huge – almost $7 billion lost in productivity alone – separate from the personal impact.

The study, being conducted by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is seeking at least 80 participants in Australia who have been diagnosed with COPD and who are or have been smokers. Other terms commonly used to describe COPD include emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

According to Associate Professor Matthew Peters of the Concord Repatriation General Hospital,

“There is a spectrum of important symptoms that may be associated with COPD including breathlessness, frequent cough and fatigue. The effect of these is to make life more difficult and people living with COPD report impairment of their quality of life.

“We know that there are existing treatments that can reduce these symptoms and improve life and lifestyle. The challenge now is to seek further improvement and to simplify treatments – ideally reducing this to one dose each day and mixing effective treatments in one inhaler.”

This study, being conducted simultaneously in 40 locations around the world, will investigate the effectiveness of a potential new treatment for COPD that does combine two new medicines in a single inhaler. This new treatment is being compared to what we would regard now as best practice treatment for patients with COPD.

The trial medicine will be provided free and participants may benefit from regular medical check-ups conducted by some of the country’s leading respiratory experts and from the enhanced knowledge and understanding of their own condition that being in a trial offers.

“This study is measuring what is important to patients – symptoms, lung function and quality of life. If on these measures the novel treatment is better than what we presently have, it would be a great advance for Australian patients living with COPD now. We’re delighted to be one of the countries taking part,” Associate Professor Peters said.

To be eligible to participate, patients need to be 40 years and over, diagnosed with COPD, a current or ex-smoker, experiencing some breathlessness. If you have been recently hospitalised you could be recruited but after your condition has stabilised.

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