Indacaterol once-daily is equally effective dosed in the evening or morning in COPD

Summary Indacaterol is a novel, inhaled, long-acting β 2 -agonist providing 24-h bronchodilation with once-daily (o.d.) dosing in patients with COPD. In this double-blind, incomplete block crossover study, patients with moderate-to-severe COPD were randomised to receive three treatment cycles from: indacaterol 300 μg o.d. dosed PM or AM, salmeterol 50 μg twice daily or placebo, each for 14 days. Trough FEV 1 was measured 24 h after indacaterol, and 12 h after salmeterol. Ninety-six patients (mean age: 64 years; post-bronchodilator FEV 1 57% predicted, FEV 1 /FVC 55%) were randomised; 83 completed. After 14 days, the difference vs. placebo in trough FEV 1 for PM indacaterol was 200 mL ( p p 1 for PM indacaterol was 110 mL higher ( p p  = NS). Over 14 days, vs. placebo, both PM and AM indacaterol improved the % of nights with no awakenings (by 11.9 and 8.1 points; p p p Indacaterol provided 24-h bronchodilation and improvement in symptoms regardless of whether taken regularly in the morning or evening. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00615030.