The lung study promising a breath of fresh air in the research world

Could the Salford Lung Study be a “game changer” for the way clinical studies are conducted?

Researchers see it as a test bed for “real world” trials that could lead to the quicker introduction of drugs and medical devices. The Salford Lung Study is examining the safety and effectiveness of a new treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 80 general practices around Salford in north west England.1 About 2500 patients are participating, half randomised to a new inhalation powder Relvar Ellipta (fluticasone furoate/vilanterol) and half to usual treatment.

Conventional randomised controlled trials are usually conducted in patients with selected characteristics, an arguably artificial setting. The Salford study differs in that it is a pragmatic trial of patients from everyday general practice, the first started before licensing.2

“In a real world study the question you’re asking is, ‘Will that medicine work in the general population … and in the health service setting in which it’s provided?’” says David Leather, global medical affairs leader for sponsor GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

...read the full BMJ article.

(Matthew Limb, freelance journalist, London, UK)