Sanofi looks to widen Dupixent use to treat 'smoker's lung' after second trial win

The findings confirmed positive results from a first trial known as BOREAS earlier this year. It said on Monday it would file a request for the wider use with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of the year.

Sanofi plans to file for U.S. approval of wider use of its anti-inflammatory drug Dupixent against "smoker's lung", also known as COPD, after a second large trial showed significant benefits. Use in COPD, short for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, could add billions to the French drugmaker's growth prospects but the trial success also underscores a heavy reliance on its bestselling exzema and asthma drug Dupixent.

Sanofi, which is collaborating on the drug with Regeneron , said in a statement on Monday that a second Dupixent phase 3 COPD trial showed that the drug reduced exacerbations of the disease by 34%. The findings confirmed positive results from a first trial known as BOREAS earlier this year.

It said on Monday it would file a request for the wider use with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of the year. The European Union's drug regulator is already working on such a request based on the BOREAS data. Details of the second trial would be presented at an as yet undisclosed medical conference, Sanofi added.