According to GSK, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has approved its Encruse Ellipta umeclidinium DPI for the treatment of COPD, and the company plans to launch the product in Japan sometime this year. The approved dosage is 62.5 mcg.
GSK announced in May 2014 that it had filed the application for the inhaler, which is approved in the US and in Europe as Incruse Ellipta.
GSK Senior VP and Head, Global Respiratory Franchise, Darrell Baker commented, “We are proud of this approval for Encruse Ellipta as it means healthcare professionals in Japan will have another treatment option for appropriate COPD patients. Encruse is our first LAMA monotherapy and the second treatment from our new COPD portfolio to be approved in Japan within the last year. The Ellipta inhaler has been positively received by physicians in Japan and today’s approval reflects our goal of providing a range of respiratory medicines in a consistent inhaler that enables physicians to meet the specific needs of individual patients.”
Read the GSK press release.
