Boots UK has taken the lead in providing pharmacist support for people with asthma, helping them to improve their inhaler use.

The company’s new in-store asthma support programme aims to provide an accessible resource for the three million adults in the UK whose asthma is not well controlled.

The project reflects the growing role of community pharmacists in helping people to manage their long-term conditions through more effective medication use and self-monitoring.

Research commissioned by Boots UK found that 45% of asthma patients felt they needed more support within the community – for example, only 26% had been encouraged to take up therapeutic activities.

All of Boots UK’s in-store pharmacists have now received training to help patients improve their self-management of asthma – including optimal inhaler use, which 71% of patients find difficult.

Peter Bainbridge, Director of Pharmacy at Boots UK, said: “An easily accessible conversation with a trained Boots UK pharmacist can empower patients to take control of their asthma,” improving their medication use and symptom management.

The new programme would complement the services provided by GPs and hospitals, he said – and would also “enable pharmacists to make relevant clinical interventions and onward referrals”.

Manny Johal, a pharmacist at Boots UK, noted that adults with asthma often lack the clinical support and guidance offered to children. “Pharmacists are ideally placed in the local community to support people with asthma to take the right steps to improving their inhaler technique or raising awareness of their triggers,” he added.

Boots UK also provides online resources for patients at boots.com/asthma and an Asthma Health Centre at BootsWebMD.com.

Over two million asthma sufferers in the UK do not fully understand the dangers they face, according to Asthma UK.

A survey of over 50,000 people with asthma found that 52% did not think they were at risk of acute episodes – yet 93% of them were.

Better monitoring and regular inhaler use could prevent most of the 1,000 asthma-related deaths that occur in the UK each year, the charity said.

Asthma UK published the survey results as part of its Stop Asthma Deaths campaign, which focuses on preventing acute and potentially lethal attacks.

A total of 5.4 million people in the UK (one in 12) suffer from asthma, one of the highest rates in Europe. The disease caused 1,143 deaths in the UK in 2010. The treatment and care of asthma patients costs the NHS around £1 billion per year. However, 75% of hospital admissions for asthma are preventable.

Neil Churchill, Chief Executive of Asthma UK, said: “Millions of people with asthma are unaware that the condition can be fatal and that they are regularly taking huge risks with their lives. We can all help stop asthma deaths, and we need to start by changing the attitude that ‘it’s just asthma’.

The charity recommends three steps to minimise the risk of an asthma attack: daily use of a preventer inhaler, immediate inhaler use to correct worsening symptoms, and developing a personal asthma action plan.

“We’ve launched the Stop Asthma Deaths campaign to help people reduce their chance of having of an attack – but they can’t do this alone. Healthcare professionals also have a crucial part to play in helping people manage their asthma and spotting who may be in danger.”

Generic manufacturer Mylan has agreed a $17.5 million deal with Pfizer for the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise a portfolio of respiratory products.

As part of the deal, Mylan will have licensing rights to Pfizer’s generic equivalent to GSK’s Advair and Seretide.

Heather Bresch, Mylan President, says the agreement offers a “significant opportunity for our generics business”.

The agreement will also see Mylan retaining staff at Pfizer’s respiratory inhalation development team at Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent. Other former Pfizer staff will be located in Cambridge.

Under the terms of the agreement Mylan will have rights to Pfizer’s dry powder inhaler (DPI) technology platform, as well as the opportunity to negotiate on existing compounds during different stages of their development in the Pharma giant’s pipeline.

Mylan will have to pay the costs for any remaining development and commercialisation for the transferred products. Additional payments will also be made once the deal is completed, depending on the regulatory and commercial success of the portfolio.

Advair Diskus and Seretide Diskus are inhaled fixed-dose combinations of Fluticasone Propionate and Salmeterol which are delivered via a DPI and used to treat asthma and COPD.

On completion of the deal, Mylan with gain the exclusive commercialisation rights for Seretide in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in the EU and European Free Trade Association countries. The two companies will have the co-promotion rights to the product in the rest of the world.

The FDA has approved Boehringer Ingelheim’s Combivent Respimat, a propellant-free inhaler for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The product has been developed to replace the Combivent MDI, which contains chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), in response to the Montreal Protocol treaty to phase out the use of inhalers releasing CFCs or hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellants into the atmosphere.

The product uses a slow-moving mist to deliver ipratropium bromide and albuterol sulfate, requiring only one inhalation per dose compared to Combivent MDI, which requires two inhalations per dose.

Both inhalers are the only short-acting bronchodilator products that offer two different medicines in a single inhaler. Clinical research in COPD patients has shown that the combination of ipratropium bromide and albuterol sulfate provides patients significantly greater improvement in lung function than either component alone.

The first-to-market generic of Salmeterol pMDI has been launched in the UK by Teva UK Ltd.

Salmeterol pMDI is a CFC-free inhaler indicated to help prevent breathing problems caused by asthma in those aged 12 years and over and other chest diseases.

Kim Innes, Commercial Director at Teva UK, says the generic manufacturer is “delighted” to bring the first version to the UK market.

The inhaler is available immediately in 25mcg per actuation pressurised inhalation.

The first antibiotic inhaler device has been launched in the UK to treat chronic lung infections in adults and older children with cystic fibrosis (CF).

The TOBI Podhaler (pictured) from Novartis is a hand-held inhaler that delivers a new dry powder form of tobramycin to fight chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) lung infections, a common cause of death in people with CF.

The new device is estimated to save almost half an hour treatment time per day in people with CF over the age of 6, increasing their independence and quality of life.

CF affects 9,000 people in the UK. A life-threatening condition, it makes the lungs vulnerable to chronic infections.

Clinical studies have shown that treatment with tobramycin inhalation powder reduces treatment time by 72% compared with the nebulised drug.

Professor Stuart Elborn, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Queen’s University, Belfast, commented: “People with CF have to endure a lengthy regimen of treatments and physiotherapy every day, so the time saved using tobramycin inhalation powder is significant.”

The new tobramycin inhalation powder has been produced using Novartis’ patented PulmoSphere technology. In trials, it was successfully inhaled in 5–6 minutes, whereas the nebuliser solution takes 20 minutes. For a twice-daily regimen, this saves approximately 28 minutes per day.

The dry powder inhaler is also less vulnerable to bacterial growth than the nebuliser, and needs no battery.

“We are proud to be launching TOBI Podhaler: a product that clearly demonstrates how we are applying innovative technology to better meet the needs of people with CF, helping them to lead independent and active lives,” said Dr Tim Cave, Medical Director of Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK.

Based in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis supplies a diversified portfolio of healthcare products including pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and drug delivery devices.