Glycopyrronium Bromide: Therapeutic Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability

Glycopyrronium bromide is a white, odourless, crystalline powder with a bitter taste. It is soluble in water and alcohol and practically insoluble in chloroform and ether.

Therapeutic Efficacy

Glycopyrronium bromide is a new long-acting muscarinic antagonist to be used once-daily, which is approved as a bronchodilator for the symptomatic maintenance treatment of adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the Glycopyrronium bromide in chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease airWays trials, treatment with inhaled glycopyrronium bromide at 50 μg once daily achieved a significantly better lung function than placebo, as measured by the trough forced expiratory volume in 1 s in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD. The lung function improvement was maintained for up to 52 weeks. Other improved indexes were dyspnea scores, health status, exacerbation rates and time of exercise endurance. Studies comparing the efficacy of glycopyrronium versus tiotropium bromide found substantial equivalence of the two drugs. Glycopyrronium was generally well tolerated.¹

Safety and Tolerability

Significantly, the absence of a significant increase in dry eye1,3and local skin reactions1,3,4 indicates that glycopyrronium bromide has a rather favorable safety profile in these aspects. Nevertheless, the general rise in treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE) compared to the control group warrants an accurate assessment of the risk-benefit ratio when choosing glycopyrronium bromide as a therapeutic choice. The specific types of TEAEs observed and their potential impact on patient health and quality of life should be considered in this assessment.

Reference

1.Gian Galeazzo Riario-Sforza.“Glycopyrronium bromide for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.” Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine 9 1 (2015): 23–33.

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