Teva UK launches GoResp® Digihaler® (budesonide/ formoterol), the first integrated digital inhaler system for appropriate adult patients with asthma and COPD[i] in the UK
- GoResp® Digihaler® enables appropriate adult patients with asthma and COPDi to support self-management of their condition and allow data on it’s use to be shared with their healthcare professionals
- Studies have shown up to 92% of patients with asthma currently experience one or more critical errors in their inhaler technique[ii],[iii]
- High unmet medical need still exists in asthma, with around 80% of studied patients with asthma having inadequately controlled disease[iv]
Castleford, UK Thursday 20th July 2023 - Teva UK Limited today launched GoResp® Digihaler®i (budesonide / formoterol fumarate dihydrate) in the UK - the first country in Europe to make this innovative new inhaler system available. The inhaler system supports appropriate patients with asthma and COPD to view and monitor their inhaler use and to share reports with their healthcare professional.
GoResp® Digihaler® is the first integrated inhaler device with built-in sensors that detect and record objective data on the patient’s use and ability to use their inhaler, including inspiratory flow classification. The inhaler is manufactured and developed by Teva in Waterford, Ireland.
Equipped with Bluetooth®, data collected by the inhaler is shown on a connected companion patient app and can be shared via an online healthcare professional dashboard, via email or face to face during appointments. The companion app displays information on how well they are inhaling their medication, based on assessment of their inspiratory flow rate, i.e. good, fair, low/no inhalation. Viewing and monitoring treatment frequency and technique is important, as data shows that patients with asthma overestimate actual inhaler use by up to 8 inhalations per week.[v] The app also has the functionality to remind patients when to take their medication.
Announcing the news, Kim Innes, General Manager of Teva UK & Ireland said: “Teva UK is excited to launch GoResp® Digihaler® in the UK. Providing key insights from viewing and monitoring inhaler technique and usage will support patients and healthcare professionals in the management of appropriate patients with asthma and COPDi and represents an important step forward. This marks a major milestone for us as it extends our growing, innovative, respiratory portfolio as we continue on our mission to improve the lives of patients.”
There are approximately 5.4 million people living with asthma in the UK[vi] and 3 million people living with COPD,[vii] with both conditions leading to high levels of hospital admissions and fatalities.[viii] It is estimated that patients with asthma in the UK consume more than 6 million primary care consultations and 93,000 hospital admissions[ix] a year, whilst COPD results in around 130,000 admissions per year.[x] Despite decades of treatment innovation in asthma, poor inhaler technique and erratic adherence contribute to poor control of the condition, with a high proportion of patients using their inhalers incorrectly.[xi],[xii] It is unsurprising that approximately 2.5 million patients with asthma live with their condition uncontrolled.[xiii]
[ii] Chrystyn H, et al. Device errors in asthma and COPD: systematic literature review and meta-analysis. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2017; 3;27(1):22.
[iii] Price DB, et al. Inhaler Errors in the CRITIKAL Study: Type, Frequency, and Association with Asthma Outcomes. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2017;5(4):1071-1081.e9.
[iv] Price D, et al. Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2014; 12;24:14009.
[v] Patel M, et al. Accuracy of patient self-report as a measure of inhaled asthma medication use. Respirology. 2013;18(3):546-52.
[vi] Asthma and Lung UK. Who we are. Available at: https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are. Accessed July 2023.
[vii] HSE. Work-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Great Britain, 2018. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/copd.pdf. Accessed July 2023.
[viii] Alwafi H et al. Trends in hospital admissions and prescribing due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in England and Wales between 1999 and 2020: an ecological study. BMC Pulm Med. 2023 Feb 2;23(1):49.
[ix] Mukherjee M, et al. The epidemiology, healthcare and societal burden and costs of asthma in the UK and its member nations: analyses of standalone and linked national databases. BMC Med 14, 113 (2016).
[x] RCGP (2016) Managing malnutrition in COPD. Including a pathway for the appropriate use of ONS to support community healthcare professionals. Available at: https://www.malnutritionpathway.co.uk/library/mm_copd.pdf. Accessed July 2023.
[xi] Zhang X, et al. Positive change in asthma control using therapeutic patient education in severe uncontrolled asthma: a one-year prospective study. Asthma Res Pract. 2021 Jul 21;7(1):10.
[xii] Sanchis J, et al. Systematic review of errors in inhaler use: has patient technique improved over time? Chest. 2016;150(2):394–406.
[xiii] Asthma and Lung UK, 2022. Transforming asthma care in the UK. Available at: https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/sites/default/files/Fighting%20back_V3.pdf. Accessed July 2023.
