Tracy Fischer

Efficacy of Formoterol Fumarate Delivered by Metered Dose Inhaler Using Co-Suspension™ Delivery Technology Versus Foradil® Aerolizer® in Moderate-To-Severe COPD: A Randomized, Dose-Ranging Study

Background: Co-Suspension™ Delivery Technology offers a novel pharmaceutical platform for inhaled drug therapy. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose study (NCT01349868) evaluated the efficacy of a range of doses for formoterol fumarate (FF) delivered using Co-Suspension delivery technology via a pressurized metered dose inhaler (MDI) versus placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Secondary objectives included determination of non-inferior efficacy and systemic exposure compared with open-label Foradil® 12 μg (Foradil® Aerolizer®; formoterol fumarate dry powder inhaler). Methods: Patients received each of the 6 study treatments (FF MDI [7.2, 9.6 and 19.2μg], placebo MDI and open-label Foradil® [12 and 24µg]), separated by 3-10 days. Spirometry was performed 60 and 30 minutes prior to and at regular intervals up to 12 hours post-administration of study drug. The primary outcome measure was the change in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) area under the curve between 0 and 12 hours (AUC0-12) relative to test day baseline. Results: A total of 50 patients were randomized to study treatment sequences. All doses of FF MDI demonstrated superiority to placebo (p<0.0001) and non-inferiority to Foradil® 12μg, on bronchodilator outcome measures. No serious adverse events were reported during the study. Conclusions: This study demonstrates non-inferiority of bronchodilator response and bioequivalent exposure of FF MDI 9.6μg to Foradil® 12μg, with both agents exhibiting a similar safety profile in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD. This study supports the selection of FF MDI 9.6µg for further evaluation in Phase III trials.

Erratum: A randomized, seven-day study to assess the efficacy and safety of a glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate fixed-dose combination metered dose inhaler using novel Co-Suspension™ Delivery Technology in patients with moderate-to-very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [Respir Res. 18, 1 (2017), (8)] DOI: 10.1186/s12931-016-0491-8

Erratum Upon Publication of the original article [1] several discrepancies were highlighted in the following sections; Results, Table 1, Table 2 and Fig. 3. These errors have since been acknowledged and corrected in this erratum The first sentence in the subsection “Baseline characteristics” originally read: Patients’ baseline and demographic characteristics are shown in Table 1 (mITT population). This should read: Patients’ baseline and demographic characteristics are shown in Table 1. The header of Table 1 read: Baseline demographics (mITT population) This should read as: Baseline demographics (ITT population) It was noticed that Table 2 contained an error. In Table 2, data row 2, the footnote symbol ‘c’ was erroneously included in the third column. The footnote symbol ‘c ‘should be placed in the second column in this row. The corrected Table 2 is shown below. It was noticed that in Fig. 3b, the error bar on the 4th data point (AUCinf ) was incorrectly given. The error bar