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Pioneering Study on Asthma in South Asia
Added: (Sat Dec 22 2001)
For Immediate Release
GlaxoSmithKline Announces the Launch of a
Pioneering Study on Asthma in South Asia
Mumbai, Friday, November 30, 2001: GlaxoSmithKline India today announced an academic grant for the launch of a pioneering study on Asthma Insights and Realities in South Asia (AIRSA). The study will provide insights about the status of asthma management in South Asia. The announcement was made at the 16th Asia-Pacific Congress on Diseases of the Chest (APCDC), a 5-day International conference being organized in Mumbai this week.
Announcing the study, Mr. Kalyanasundaram, Director - Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline said, "As leaders in respiratory medicine, we are committed towards betterment of our patient's life through constant research and study into the various chest related diseases in conjunction with experts in pulmonary medicine. This commitment then relates into providing the solution towards enabling patients to lead a normal and healthier life even with conditions like Asthma."
Currently there is no concrete data about asthmatics, the perception of asthma among doctors and patients, and the treatment profile. Studies have been far and few between, and this lack of comprehensive data has led to under diagnosis and under treatment. The greatest danger is that the disease is being underestimated.
As a commitment to respiratory care in India, GlaxoSmithKline launches the landmark study about Asthma Insights and Realities in South Asia (AIRSA), to assess the level of Asthma control prevailing in India and other South Asian countries. This study will be expanded to include Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Further adding Mr. Kalyanasundaram said, "Persons with asthma are enduring unnecessary suffering and risk, while more severe asthmatics are putting their lives in danger through poor asthma management. We believe we have a significant role to play, with our research product Seretide in an innovative award winning device the Accuhaler. Since its introduction Seretide Accuhaler has changed the way people perceive asthma and has helped them lead an uncompromised lifestyle".
The study will be conducted in over three thousand patients' representing all cross sections of the population. It will be guided by an Expert Advisory Panel and Steering committee comprising of eminent chest physicians from across India and South Asia. This body will interpret and validate the data generated by the research bureau.
Most previous studies of asthma, involved relatively small samples of patients selected from a limited number of clinical settings. While these samples can be effectively used to test the clinical efficacy of new medications or hypotheses about treatment outcomes, they do not necessarily yield an accurate picture of the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and health outcomes of the population of asthma sufferers.
The results of the recently concluded Asthma Insight and Reality in Asia Pacific ("AIRIAP") study demonstrate the current state of asthma management in Asia-Pacific, which falls significantly short of the established worldwide goals for long-term asthma management.
The AIRIAP study was conducted by Isis Research between September and December 2000, and is based on a sample of 3,200 asthmatics from thirteen cities across China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The study supported by an academic grant from GlaxoSmithKline was aimed at enhancing knowledge and understanding of the real experience of persons with asthma from the general population within the Asia-Pacific Region. The study yields the first ever-accurate picture of knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and health outcomes of the population of asthma sufferers in the Asia-Pacific Region.
GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals being a pioneer in Respiratory medicine has taken initiative to address these needs. It has facilitated studies like Asthma In America (AIA), Asthma Insights and Realities in Europe (AIRE) and Asthma Insights and Realities In Asia Pacific (AIRIAP) as part of a global effort to gain a better understanding of Asthma. These studies threw light on asthma as a disease and the gaps between management goals and reality as experienced by the patients.
GlaxoSmithKline India is the country's leading research-based pharmaceutical company. GlaxoSmithKline India Limited is an affiliate of GlaxoSmithKline plc, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, whose global quest is to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
For further information, please contact:
Jayant ranade /sameer ranade
98220 77627 98230 66106