Olodaterol for the treatment of asthma

Long-acting β-agonist (LABA)/inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) combinations are still the mainstay of asthma therapy but there is a pressing need to increase adherence to the prescribed treatment achievable in general by reducing the dose frequency. Consequently, there is considerable interest within the pharmaceutical industry in the discovery of once-daily β2-agonists (ultra-LABAs) to be used as a part of a combination therapy for treating asthma.

The authors review the preclinical and clinical development of olodaterol, a new ultra-LABA characterized by an improved selectivity for β2-adrenoceptors and a rather high intrinsic efficacy profile, in asthma. The clinical results were generated by 4 Phase 2 trials, which have enrolled 731 asthmatic patients.

The available results indicate that olodaterol is able to induce an effective 24-h bronchodilation and is safe. However, one cannot formulate a solid conclusion on the best dose and/or dose frequency to be used in asthma because trials were not powered to assess the differences between doses and dose frequencies. Apparently, there is no Phase 3 trial planned or ongoing for olodaterol monotherapy in patients with asthma and also no attempt to combine olodaterol with an ICS, which is surprising.