Generic, Brand-Name Medication Similarly Effective for COPD

MONDAY, Aug. 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), generic and brand-name fluticasone-salmeterol are similarly effective and safe, according to a study published online Aug. 8 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

William B. Feldman, M.D., D.Phil., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues compared the effectiveness and safety of generic (Wixela Inhub) and brand-name (Advair Diskus) fluticasone-salmeterol among patients with COPD in a propensity score-matched cohort study. Of 27,305 Advair Diskus users and 18,064 Wixela Inhub users, 10,012 matched pairs were included in the primary analysis.

The researchers found that Wixela Inhub use was associated with a nearly identical incidence of first moderate or severe COPD exacerbation compared with Advair Diskus (hazard ratio, 0.97; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.90 to 1.04) and with a similar incidence of first pneumonia hospitalization (hazard ratio, 0.99; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.86 to 1.15).

"In patients with COPD, the generic inhaled corticosteroid-long-acting β-agonist Wixela Inhub had nearly identical effectiveness and safety when compared with brand-name Advair Diskus," the authors write. "Similar studies can provide a useful means of evaluating the clinical effectiveness and safety of complex generic products after approval."

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