The prevalence of many of the diseases that Pfizer’s Allergy & Respiratory (A&R) Therapeutic Area aims to treat is dramatically increasing. The efforts of the A&R team are concentrated on the lower airway diseases of Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Millions of patients across the world suffer from COPD and with the industrialisation of the developing world and the rise of smoking in the same regions, COPD is set to become the third leading cause of death in the world by 2020.
The upper airway diseases of Acute Rhinitis and Chronic Sinusitis also feature in A&R’s research programs. These diseases may not be as life threatening as COPD, however their symptoms still adversely affect the quality of life for millions of patients.
The A&R team is about more than new medicines. Combined with its medical research efforts there are many other projects to develop new technologies and devices to help deliver those medicines directly to affected areas through inhalers.
Conditions
Asthma
A life threatening chronic disease of the lung characterized by variable obstruction of the airways, causing breathing difficulties such as coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath that affects patients of all ages. Asthma is often caused by allergic reactions, infections, exercise, temperature change and airway irritants.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is a progressive, irreversible disease that limits airflow resulting in breathlessness, wheezing and chronic coughing. It is also characterized by sudden intermittent periods where the symptoms can be very severe. These are known as exacerbations. COPD is most commonly caused by smoking.