International biopharmaceutical and drug development company Sosei reports that NVA237, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) being investigated as a once daily treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), achieved its primary end point in a phase III study. The drug is licensed to Novartis; the company confirmed results from the first phase III clinical trial with once-daily NVA237 (glycopyrronium bromide) show that it significantly improved lung function while demonstrating a good safety profile in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The pivotal double-blind 26-week GLOW1 study met its primary endpoint by demonstrating superior bronchodilation to placebo at 12 weeks measured by trough FEV1 (i.e. forced expiratory volume in one second), a standard measure of lung function (p