Novartis lung drug superior to placebo over 1 year

ZURICH (Reuters) – A Novartis experimental lung drug to treat smokers’ cough was superior to a placebo in improving lung function over a one-year period and had similar efficacy to a rival drug from Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday. The Phase III GLOW2 trial showed a 50 mcg once-daily dose of NVA237 improved lung function, symptom relief and quality of life over a one-year period in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), commonly referred to as smokers cough, compared with a placebo. …