Two one-year studies of over 1,500 roflumilast-treated patients with severe COPD, chronic bronchitis and a history of exacerbations were conducted.
Roflumilast treatment in patients who were frequent exacerbators showed reduced risk for those remaining in the frequent exacerbator state by 20% as compared to placebo
On the other hand, treatment with roflumilast among infrequent exacerbators over a year lowered the risk of becoming a frequent exacerbator by 23% as compared to placebo.
It was thus stated that COPD patients benefit by roflumilast treatment which shifts patients from the frequent to the more stable infrequent exacerbator state.
Daxas, which belongs to phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors class of treatment has been approved for treating severe COPD associated with chronic bronchitis in countries, including the European Union, US and Canada.