Sanofi blockbuster drug aces lung trial

Sanofi’s prescription medicine Dupixent has helped patients with chronic lung disorders breathe better and regain lung function, opening a new avenue of growth for the blockbuster medicine.

The asthma injection has shown promising results in a final-stage study of almost 1,000 current or former smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an ailment for which no new treatment approach has succeeded in more than a decade, Sanofi said.

The medicine, developed with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, has succeeded where others have failed.

The positive data could herald a new era of cutting edge treatments for the lifethreatening respiratory affliction.

Dupixent, which is already prescribed for asthma and some skin conditions, has shown a 30% reduction in the rate at which patients’ COPD worsened compared to those who received a placebo during an advanced trial called Boreas.

Dupixent has improved people’s lung function and quality of life, showing results that are “unprecedented and potentially paradigm-shifting”, said Dietmar Berger, Sanofi’s chief medical officer.

Sanofi will probably need Dupixent to also perform well in a related trial before it can apply for regulatory approval, said Tim Anderson, an analyst at Wolfe Research. That study, called Notus, is not likely to yield results until 2024.

Common among current and former smokers, among others, COPD damages people’s lungs and can cause persistent coughing and breathlessness, along with anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances.

In the US, about 300,000 people suffer from the type of COPD included in this trial, Sanofi said.

The French pharmaceutical maker has a peak sales forecast of more than €13bn for Dupixent, which does not include any potential revenue for treating COPD.