‘Genuine hope’ for COPD patients as new jab is rolled out on NHS

A revolutionary injection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) is being rolled out on the NHS. The jab tackles the inflammation driving symptoms and could benefit up to 30,000 people with the debilitating lung condition. Patrick Regan, 67, was the first patient to receive the drug, dupilumab, at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

He said the unpredictable condition sometimes leaves him fighting for breath, and feels like “trying to blow up a balloon when someone is holding it to stop you”. He added: “COPD affects me a lot and stops me doing things I want to do like walking and going out with my kids and grandkids. That’s one of the most important reasons to get this new medication, so I can do more things with the kids.”

Patrick uses an inhaler twice a day, antibiotics three days a week and sometimes needs additional steroids and antibiotics during flare-ups. He will inject dupilumab at home from the second dose, taking it every two weeks.

After having the first dose last week, Pat said: “I have felt less breathless than in previous periods of high temperatures.

“I also felt more confident in meeting my wife for a coffee this afternoon due to not feeling so breathless. I have also had less mucus on my chest which I have had to clear through chest clearance techniques.”

Pat’s wife Dionne added: “Over the last 15 years Patrick has significantly deteriorated and it’s had a huge impact on him and the family. When he gets rushed to hospital that affects me and the children and grandchildren.

“The aim is to keep Pat well, but this new treatment will also have a knock-on effect for the whole family.”

COPD causes the lungs to become inflamed, damaged and narrowed. Its main cause is smoking, although it can affect people who have never smoked.

Around four in 10 people with COPD have a specific type caused by raised levels of white blood cells known as eosinophils.

Dupilumab blocks two proteins which help drive inflammation. It is recommended for COPD patients with raised eosinophil levels who have had one severe or two moderate flare-ups in the last year, despite being on the maximum inhaler therapy.

Professor Mona Bafadhel, director of the King’s Centre for Lung Health at King’s College London, said: “We don’t know the exact role of the eosinophil in COPD, but patients with this type of inflammation often have more exacerbations.

“Identifying the patients with this type of inflammation means that we can be much more precise in our treatments. This is because the drug will be able to accurately bind to these types of cells to block the inflammatory response.”

Reducing flare-ups could ease pressure on A&E departments and reduce the need for steroid prescriptions.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has estimated that if around half of the patients eligible for dupilumab receive the treatment, COPD attacks would fall by 3,600 per year, saving the NHS around £16.5 million.

Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said the new treatment offered patients “genuine hope for a better quality of life”. She added: “Our recommendation of dupilumab was a significant milestone for people with COPD.

“It offers people an effective, targeted therapy that has shown impressive results — reducing flare-ups and improving lung function.”

Dr Amy Dewar, a consultant in integrated respiratory medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is very much a new avenue of treatment for COPD and will make a truly meaningful impact on patients to reduce admissions and flare ups of their condition.”