GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance have announced the availability of the Breo Ellipta fluticasone furoate/vilanterol DPI in the US. The FDA approved Breo Ellipta for the treatment of COPD in May 2013. The launch triggers a $30 million milestone payment from Theravance to GSK.
GSK Senior VP of the US Respiratory Business Unit Jorge Bartolome said, “Patients and physicians have a new treatment option with Breo Ellipta, the first once-daily ICS/LABA for the maintenance treatment of COPD. This new option for healthcare providers to prescribe is good news for the millions of people in the US affected by COPD.”
Theravance CEO Rick E. Winningham added, “Launching Breo Ellipta and making this important new medicine available to COPD patients is a significant milestone, which has been built upon many years of research and development. We, like GSK, are proud to make the option of treatment with Breo Ellipta a reality for appropriate patients in the US.”
Read the GSK/Theravance press release.
