Roflumilast: First approved oral selective PDE4 inhibitor for the treatment of COPD

Abstract

Roflumilast is a first-in-class oral selective anti-inflammatory drug which is a PDE4 inhibitor. It has been approved by regulatory authorities in the Europe and US in 2010 and 2011 respectively for the prevention of acute exacerbations among patients with severe COPD. Since then, the drug has been studies in different populations in clinical trials as well as real world studies. The studies looked at different end points such as the quality of life, improvement in spirometry indices as well as the ability of the drug to prevent exacerbations and hospital admissions. There was a variable response seen in these studies.  This article seeks to review the evidence for the role of roflumilast in COPD from these recent studies since its approval.

Keywords: Roflumilast, Exacerbation, Anti-Inflammatory, Phosphodiesterase, COPD