Macao’s Kiang Wu Hospital has become the first hospital in Asia to make available a new drug for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition that restricts airflow to the lungs, resulting in breathing difficulties, fatigue and other symptoms.
Known as Ensifentrine, the medicine was formally introduced to Kiang Wu following a signing ceremony between the hospital and drug’s developer, Nuance Pharma, which took place yesterday at the hospital’s Dr. Henry Y.T. Fok Specialist Medical Centre.
At the event, which was reported by local media, the vice president of the Kiang Wu Hospital Charitable Association, Ng Choi Kun, said that the introduction of the drug would fill a gap in COPD drug treatment in Macao and provide patients with a more advanced and effective treatment option.
The hospital’s deputy director, Cheung Chun Wing expressed similar sentiments, pointing out that the drug’s anti-inflammation properties and ability to open up airways would “bring patients new hope.”
He noted that the drug would mainly be used with individuals who are diagnosed with medium to severe COPD, “especially when other medicines are not having the desired effect.”
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Meanwhile, the deputy director of Kiang Wu’s Internal Medicine Department, Cheng Kun, said that the drug had a high level of safety, as clinical tests on over 3,000 individuals had been conducted. These assessments revealed that Ensifentrine is capable of reducing the risk of a patient’s COPD condition worsening by approximately 40 percent.
Cheng also noted that compared with the other treatments that the hospital had been using, the novel drug is also much more cost effective, slashing the price by around half.
Ensifientrine received approval from Macao’s Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau in February, making the city only the second place in the world to greenlight the medicine’s commercial use, following US approval last June.
At the time, Nuance Pharma’s CEO, Mark Lotter, said the company was “proud” that the drug was being offered in Macao and the Greater Bay Area, by extension. Lotter noted that his firm intended to introduce Ensifentrine into the mainland and plans to submit a new drug application this year.
Government data shows that COPD was the ninth leading cause of death in Macao last year, taking the lives of some 66 people. Globally, the disease killed some 3.5 million people in 2021, making it the fourth major cause of death in the world, according to data from the World Health Organisation.
