The future of combining inhaled drugs for COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally, and its prevalence is projected to continue to increase owing to trends in smoking. Treatment of COPD has evolved from the initial adaptations of drugs and treatment strategies successfully used in asthma into more specific pharmacological strategies following global guidelines. Bronchodilating anticholinergic and beta-2-stimulating agents and anti-inflammatory corticosteroid drugs delivered by inhalators are the mainstay of COPD treatment. Despite significant progress, current pharmacotherapies neither fully alleviate the airway obstruction in COPD, nor reverse the progressive nature of the disease. This review discusses inhalation therapies which have recently become clinically available or are being developed, with focus on combination therapies. There is accumulating evidence that the combination of two or all three drug classes, triple therapy, is superior to single drug therapy. Several fixed combinations of both currently available and novel molecules will be launched for clinical use within the next few years. Also, improved understanding of subgroups within the clinical spectrum of COPD, is likely to offer new potentials to improve COPD care.