Sanofi drug to treat 'smoker's lung' clears trial, says report

Sanofi added its "bold" decision to go without earlier-stage clinical COPD trials had shaved years off the development time

Sanofi's asthma drug Dupixent met all targets in a trial to treat "smoker's lung", potentially adding billions to the French drugmaker's growth prospects, but also underscoring a heavy reliance on its bestseller.
 

In a late stage trial Dupixent, jointly developed with Regeneron, led to a 30% reduction in moderate or severe acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a potentially deadly disease marked by progressive lung function decline.
 

Shares in Sanofi and Regeneron surged after they said in a joint statement on Thursday a Phase III trial involving 939 current or former smokers also showed improvements in lung function,