A twice-daily, fixed-dose combination of aclidinium bromide and formoterol fumarate for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Inhaled long-acting β2-agonists or long-acting muscarinic antagonists monotherapies are recommended as the first choice of treatment for patients with symptomatic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The different but complementary modes of action of these treatments make them suited for use in a fixed-dose combination. Aclidinium bromide 400 µg (a long-acting muscarinic antagonist) twice daily improves patient lung function and health status and reduces breathlessness compared with placebo, and is well tolerated. Combining these effects with the rapid onset of action of formoterol fumarate 12 µg in a twice-daily treatment may provide 24-h relief from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease symptoms. This review discusses the aclidinium/formoterol 400/12 µg combination clinical trial data to date.