The first patient has received a revolutionary injection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) on the NHS, with up to 30,000 people expected to benefit from the new treatment. The drug, dupilumab, targets the inflammation driving symptoms of the debilitating lung condition.
First Patient Shares Experience
Patrick Regan, 67, was the first to receive dupilumab at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. He described living with COPD as feeling like “trying to blow up a balloon when someone is holding it to stop you”. He said: “COPD affects me a lot and stops me doing things I want to do like walking and going out with my kids and grandkids. That’s one of the most important reasons to get this new medication, so I can do more things with the kids.”
Patrick uses an inhaler twice daily, antibiotics three days a week, and additional steroids and antibiotics during flare-ups. After his first dose, he reported feeling less breathless and had less mucus. He will self-inject dupilumab at home every two weeks from the second dose onward.
Impact on Family and NHS
Patrick’s wife, Dionne, noted the toll his condition has taken on the family over 15 years: “When he gets rushed to hospital that affects me and the children and grandchildren. The aim is to keep Pat well, but this new treatment will also have a knock-on effect for the whole family.”
COPD causes inflamed, damaged, and narrowed lungs, primarily due to smoking, though non-smokers can also be affected. Around 40% of COPD patients have elevated eosinophil levels, a type of white blood cell driving inflammation. Dupilumab blocks two proteins that fuel this inflammation and is recommended for patients with raised eosinophils who have experienced one severe or two moderate flare-ups in the past year despite maximal inhaler therapy.
Clinical and Economic Benefits
Professor Mona Bafadhel, director of the King’s Centre for Lung Health at King’s College London, explained: “We don’t know the exact role of the eosinophil in COPD, but patients with this type of inflammation often have more exacerbations. Identifying the patients with this type of inflammation means that we can be much more precise in our treatments.”
Reducing flare-ups is expected to ease pressure on A&E departments and cut steroid prescriptions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) estimates that if half of eligible patients receive dupilumab, COPD attacks would drop by 3,600 per year, saving the NHS around £16.5 million.
Expert Endorsements
Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said the treatment offers “genuine hope for a better quality of life”. She added: “Our recommendation of dupilumab was a significant milestone for people with COPD. It offers people an effective, targeted therapy that has shown impressive results — reducing flare-ups and improving lung function.”
Dr Amy Dewar, a consultant in integrated respiratory medicine at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, stated: “This is very much a new avenue of treatment for COPD and will make a truly meaningful impact on patients to reduce admissions and flare ups of their condition.”
