MARLBOROUGH, Mass.& GLENVIEW, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Sunovion) and the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) have announced a strategic initiative focused on increasing recognition that the way a medicine is delivered should be an important consideration in evaluating a patient’s COPD therapy. As a part of this collaboration, the organizations have launched the Delivery Makes a Difference initiative, which seeks to understand patient and health care provider practices and to provide tools for matching patients with appropriate medications and delivery devices.
The initiative began in August 2016 by assembling a steering committee of nationally recognized COPD thought leaders. These thought leaders collaborated to design a landmark survey of 1,000 patients and health care providers to assess drug and device prescription habits and perception disparities between patients and health care providers.
“When first-line treatments fail to achieve their desired effect, health care providers often prescribe additional medications, failing to consider that the way the medicine has been delivered may be a significant issue,” said Dr. Nicola Hanania, Chair of the Delivery Makes a Difference Steering Committee, Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. “The Delivery Makes a Difference initiative hopes to provide important data to support the crucial step of choosing appropriate delivery devices for individual patients.”
A program overview of the Delivery Makes a Difference initiative will be presented at the CHEST 2016 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, including partnership objectives and survey methodology. The session, entitled “COPD: Delivery Makes A Difference” is scheduled for October 24 at 10 a.m. PST in The Los Angeles Convention Center, Room 405.
“The American College of Chest Physicians believes that a comprehensive approach to the patient’s needs is essential to optimal treatment of COPD,” said John Alexander, M.D, MBA, FCCP, President of CHEST Enterprises. “Great patient care extends beyond the molecule, considering patient ability, delivery systems and ongoing doctor/patient communication.”
“Sunovion is proud to be working with CHEST to facilitate this important discussion with health care providers and patients about the role of delivery devices for COPD medications,” said Antony Loebel, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Sunovion. “We look forward to sharing the data from this survey with health care providers and to providing meaningful educational programs for patients.”
Full results from the Delivery Makes a Difference survey will be published and presented at upcoming scientific meetings.
Informed by the survey results, the Delivery Makes a Difference initiative plans to develop educational materials that health care providers can use to support their decisions regarding patients’ individual treatment paradigms.
About COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD, includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and is a progressive respiratory disease that causes worsening obstruction to airflow in the lungs over time.1 Approximately 15.7 million adults in the U.S. report that they have been diagnosed with COPD.2 It is estimated that several million more adults have undiagnosed COPD.3 COPD is responsible for over 120,000 deaths per year, making it the third leading cause of death in the U.S.i COPD develops slowly and the symptoms often worsen over time, potentially limiting the ability to perform routine activities.i Symptoms of COPD include constant coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, excess production of mucus in the lungs, the inability to breathe deeply and the feeling of being unable to breathe.i
About the American College of Chest Physicians
The American College of Chest Physicians is the global leader in advancing best patient outcomes through innovative chest medicine education, clinical research, and team-based care. Its mission is to champion the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases through education, communication, and research. CHEST serves as an essential connection to clinical knowledge and resources for its 19,000 members from around the world who provide patient care in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. For more information about CHEST, visit chestnet.org.
About Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Sunovion)
Sunovion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the innovative application of science and medicine to help people with serious medical conditions. Sunovion’s spirit of innovation is driven by the conviction that scientific excellence paired with meaningful advocacy and relevant education can improve lives. The Company has charted new paths to life-transforming treatments that reflect ongoing investments in research and development and an unwavering commitment to support people with psychiatric, neurological, and respiratory conditions. Sunovion’s track record of discovery, development and commercialization of important therapies has included Brovana® (arformoterol tartrate), Latuda® (lurasidone HCI), and most recently Aptiom® (eslicarbazepine acetate).
Headquartered in Marlborough, Mass. Sunovion is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd. Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Europe Ltd., based in London, England, and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., based in Mississauga, Ontario, are wholly-owned direct subsidiaries of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Additional information can be found on the Company’s web sites: www.sunovion.com, www.sunovion.eu and www.sunovion.ca. Connect with Sunovion on Twitter @Sunovion and LinkedIn.
About Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.
Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is among the top-ten listed pharmaceutical companies in Japan operating globally in major pharmaceutical markets, including Japan, the United States, China and the European Union. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma aims to create innovative pharmaceutical products in the Psychiatry & Neurology area and the Oncology area, which have been designated as the focus therapeutic areas. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is based on the merger in 2005 between Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. Today, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma has about 7,000 employees worldwide. Additional information about Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is available through its corporate website at www.ds-pharma.com.
BROVANA is a registered trademark of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
LATUDA is a registered trademark of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.
APTIOM is used under license from BIAL.
Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a U.S. subsidiary of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.
© 2016 Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
1 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. What Is COPD? Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/copd/. Accessed: March 2, 2016
2 MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Employment and Activity Limitations Among Adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease — United States, 2013. March 27, 2015; 64(11). Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/
