( Published by the New England Journal o...)Mild Asthma, a Revolutionary Therapy from Italian Research,Health

Published by the New England Journal of Medicine the B.E.S.T study conducted in Italy

“TAKEN ONLY WHEN NEEDED AND THE DISEASE CAN BE CONTROLLED SUCCESSFULLY”

Prof. Fabbri: “Daily drug useless for mild persistent types affecting over one million 200 thousand people”. Chiesi’s commitment to pneumological research

MILAN, Italy, 29th May 2007 – Farewell to the daily dose of cortisone necessary for the control of mild persistent asthma: an Italian study has demonstrated that successful management of the disease is possible in the early stages without the need for daily maintenance therapy. A new “when needed” approach that may significantly improve the quality of life for one million 200 thousand Italians suffering from this disease. Amongst these sufferers there are also those suffering from allergic asthma, which is very common particularly at this time of year.

These are the results of a clinical study on BEST (BEclomethasone plus Salbutamol Treatment), published by the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most prestigious international medical publications, sponsored by Chiesi Farmaceutici and the most important pneumological centres in Italy. “This is a revolutionary study – says research coordinator, Professor Leonardo Fabbri, Head of the Clinic for Respiratory Tract Diseases at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia – as it questions a pivotal issue within the therapeutic programme for asthma in this group of patients. Our research has demonstrated that basic inhalant therapy with a preconstituted combination of a bronchodilator (salbutamol) and cortisone (beclometasone dipropionate), taken when symptoms first appear, allows clinical control similar to that provided by continuous daily inhalant therapy with cortisone plus bronchodilator when required, as recommended by current guidelines. Clinical research in Italy gains important international recogni
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