GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended marketing authorisation for the drugmaker's umeclidinium medicine. The umeclidinium, under the proposed brand name Incruse, is a once-daily treatment to relieve symptoms in adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is an investigational long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA). Patrick Vallance, GSK's President of Pharmaceuticals Research and Development said: "GSK is committed to the development of a range of respiratory medicines that allow physicians to make treatment choices based on their individual patients' needs. "The CHMP's decision brings us a step closer to offering physicians a further once-daily treatment choice for appropriate COPD patients. We look forward to a final decision from the European Commission in the next few months." The CHMP's recommendation is one of the final steps before marketing authorisation is granted by the European Commission. A final decision by the European Commission is expected during the second quarter of 2014.RD