Respiratory

380,000 people in Ireland 01 and 300 million people globally - equivalent to almost the entire population of the USA - suffer from asthma. 02 Chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), kill more than four million people every year and affect hundreds of millions more.02 The economic and societal burden is immense.

Teva has several innovative branded medicines that treat respiratory diseases and conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and we’re developing e-connected devices to help improve patient compliance with their prescribed medication.

In respiratory we are focused on developing and providing treatment options that address two major issues:

• treatment adherence and compliance
• treating asthma that remains uncontrolled despite the use of a standard of care therapy.

Adherence is a major issue in the effective management of asthma and COPD. Moreover, many patients have multiple devices for different parts of their treatment (maintenance and rescue therapies). This adds to the complexity that patients face.

Improper inhaler use can result in increased exacerbation (acute attacks) of asthma or COPD requiring emergency care.

Applying expertise, innovation and technology to improve health

Our research and development teams are working on solutions to address unmet needs in respiratory medicine and we have a promising pipeline of treatments. In fact, our Teva site in Waterford is dedicated to research and development for respiratory, along with manufacturing medicines and devices for respiratory products.

The focus of our research efforts in respiratory is on breath-activated inhaled therapies for asthma and COPD, where incorrect inhaler technique and non-adherence has been shown to be associated with poor asthma control, as well as targeted biologics for uncontrolled asthma.

Smart Inhaler Technology

A key area our global research teams are focusing on is E-connectivity. Using smart inhaler technology patients may be more empowered to manage their condition more effectively, and healthcare professionals could obtain greater insight into the patient's experience and condition to make more informed treatment decisions.

Effective asthma medication allows people to lead healthier lives but a key challenge is ensuring patients are taking their medication in the correct way. Too many patients have poor inhaler technique, which means the medicine is not properly used, meaning less effective treatment for the patient and a waste of resource for the health service.

One of our solutions is a hardware device that attaches to select metered-dose inhalers, as well as a software programme which synchronises and stores data through an app-based user interface. This gives both patients and clinicians a clear view of the asthma symptoms and how their treatment could be modified, if necessary.

This could empower patients and carers to understand, monitor and manage their health - and could enable healthcare professionals to make data-driven decisions about identifying high risk patients, improving quality of life and better co-ordinating care delivery to optimise resource allocation and reduce costs.

We are dedicated to supporting our patients and healthcare professionals

Our work with patients, and our experience in respiratory, means we are well placed to invest in extensive research into medicines to help alleviate the many symptoms of asthma, cystic fibrosis and COPD, to offer patients and healthcare professionals a wider choice of treatments.

Life Effects™ - patient support from Teva

Poor health impacts life in so many different ways—physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and financially, to name a few. Chronic illness can turn life upside down.

Through Teva’s Life Effects™ website patients and caregivers share their tips and real life experiences to help other patients navigate their new normal.