International Journal of COPD (Jun 2019)
Evidence-based review of data on the combination inhaler umeclidinium/vilanterol in patients with COPD
Abstract
Timothy E Albertson,1,2 Willis S Bowman,1,2 Richart W Harper,1,2 Regina M Godbout,2,3 Susan Murin1,21Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA; 2Department of Veterans Affairs, Northern California Health Care System, Mather, CA, USA; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Medicine, UC Davis, Sacramento, CA, USAAbstract: The use of inhaled, fixed-dose, long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) combined with long-acting, beta2-adrenergic receptor agonists (LABA) has become a mainstay in the maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). One of the fixed-dose LAMA/LABA combinations is the dry powder inhaler (DPI) of umeclidinium bromide (UMEC) and vilanterol trifenatate (VI) (62.5 μg/25 μg) approved for once-a-day maintenance treatment of COPD. This paper reviews the use of fixed-dose combination LAMA/LABA agents focusing on the UMEC/VI DPI inhaler in the maintenance treatment of COPD. The fixed-dose combination LAMA/LABA inhaler offers a step beyond a single inhaled maintenance agent but is still a single device for the COPD patient having frequent COPD exacerbations and persistent symptoms not well controlled on one agent. Currently available clinical trials suggest that the once-a-day DPI of UMEC/VI is well-tolerated, safe and non-inferior or better than other currently available inhaled fixed-dose LAMA/LABA combinations for COPD.Keywords: fixed-dose combination inhalers, long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonists, LABA, long-acting muscarinic antagonists, LAMA, COPD, umeclidinium bromide, vilanterol trifenatate
