Asthma + Lung UK and Sanofi join forces to empower healthcare professionals to improve health outcomes for people with COPD

·         Approximately 1.7 million people in the UK are living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with around 600,000 being unaware of it (undiagnosed)1

·         COPD has strong links with deprivation and health inequalities, with people from the poorest communities five times more likely to die from COPD compared to those in the richest2

·         COPD is a debilitating lung condition, which has a major impact on NHS resources.

Reading, UK. 19 August 2024. Asthma + Lung UK and Sanofi have launched an innovative partnership to improve health outcomes for people across the UK with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a chronic inflammatory condition which permanently narrows your airways. Together, the two organisations are working to empower healthcare professionals to challenge current standards of care in COPD and advocate for best practice approaches to improving health outcomes for people with this debilitating condition. To realise this shared ambition, the partnership has already delivered a series of events at venues across England to educate healthcare professionals on the latest scientific understanding of COPD.

Dr Andy Whittamore, Clinical Lead at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “There is a real need for support with the emotional impact of living with a long-term chronic condition like COPD, and healthcare professionals can be part of the solution, reaching out to people in community settings and facilitating conversations about this lung condition. Healthcare professionals are well placed to help people better understand their condition, supporting people to feel able to talk about COPD and gain more information, as well as being able to speak to their loved ones about their disease. At Asthma + Lung UK we’re proud to be part of this important initiative, which we hope will help people living with COPD.” 

Lung disease has a substantial impact on NHS expenditure, costing the NHS around £9.6bn each year, which is 3.4% of total NHS budget.³ COPD is a common group of lung conditions that restrict your breathing, which is a significant public health issue in the UK, affecting around 1.7 million people, with 600,000 of these currently going undiagnosed¹. COPD also presents a major health inequality, COPD prevalence is 4x higher in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived areas.4

Rippon Ubhi, Country Lead, Sanofi UK said, “We are deeply committed to addressing inequalities faced by COPD patients through partnership working with Asthma + Lung UK. With COPD we shouldn’t underestimate the power of the local chest physician to change national policy. By working with Asthma + Lung UK, we know we can empower healthcare professionals to be firmly in the driving seat when it comes to ensuring the best possible outcomes for their patients. As we move ahead, Sanofi will continue to innovate and bring a forward-thinking approach to solving the growing inequalities in patient outcomes.”

The symptoms of COPD, includes a chronic cough and shortness of breath, placing a significant burden on someone’s life and their everyday activities.⁵ Severe or mismanaged COPD can cause “flare-ups”, also known as “severe exacerbations”, which can be life-threatening and require hospital admission.6

The agreement started with a joint medical and health policy education roadshow hosted by respiratory physicians in Manchester, Hull, London and Southampton. Each of these sessions incorporated a deep dive on best practice sharing, local challenges, and an Asthma + Lung UK-led solutions-focused discussion on respiratory health policy. Both parties will share key learnings from the sessions with healthcare professionals and people with the disease to support better understanding and management of COPD.

If you are worried about the symptoms of COPD you can visit the Asthma + Lung UK website or give the Helpline team a call on 0300 222 5800 (Monday-Friday, 9.15 am-5 pm).

References

1. Stone et al. Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in England from 2000 to 2019. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2023. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37497381/.   [Accessed August 2024]

2. Inequalities in mortality involving common physical health conditions, England: 21 March 2021 to 31 January 2023. Retrieved from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity /healthandsocialcare/healthinequalities/bulletins/inequalitiesinmortalityinvolving commonphysicalhealthconditionsengland/latest.  [Accessed August 2024]

3. Saving Your Breath. How better lung health benefits us all. 2023. Available from: https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/saving-your-breath-report [Accessed August 2024]

4. Health Inequalities in 2040 by the REAL Centre (Health Foundation). Available from: https://www.health.org.uk/sites/default/files/upload/publications/2024/Health%20inequalities%20in%202040.pdf [Accessed August 2024]

5. Asthma + Lung UK, What is COPD? Available at: https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/conditions/copd-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/what-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease [Accessed July 2024].

6. Asthma + Lung UK (2023), Saving Your Breath: How better lung health benefits us all. Available at: https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/saving-your-breath-report [Accessed July 2024].