GlaxoSmithKline wins US FDA approval for Incruse Ellipta

Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Incruse medication known as Ellipta.Ellipta is used as a long-term, once-daily, maintenance treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. Darrell Baker, Head of GSK's Global Respiratory Franchise, said: "We believe Incruse Ellipta, our first monotherapy in the anticholinergic class, will be an important once-daily treatment option for appropriate patients with COPD. "GSK has a long-standing commitment to the development of respiratory medicines in order to offer physicians a choice of treatment options for their patients. We are delighted by this approval, and are looking forward to making Incruse Ellipta available for appropriate patients with COPD in the US."The drug, which is administered via an inhaler, is expected to be launched in the US in the final quarter of this year. NR