New Drug Could Be 'Gamechanger' For Chronic Coughs, Lung Doctor Says

A new drug to treat chronic cough could be a "gamechanger" treatment for the thousands of Britons who cough uncontrollably thousands of times a day.

- Denis Campbell

Dr Surinder Birring, a leading lung doctor, has led a global trial that found that Gefapixant reduced the amount of coughing by up to 60% and brought some relief to 70% of people who had the treatment.

Birring, a professor of respiratory medicine at King's College Hospital, in London, said that if the experimental drug gained approval it would be the first new treatment, for more than 50 years, to alleviate the symptoms of the debilitating condition.

A chronic, or persistent, cough is defined as one that lasts for more than eight weeks. Between 4% and 12% of people in the UK suffer from it, lung specialists estimate. In many cases that is because the patients have asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or another condition that seriously affects their breathing. In others the cough has no obvious medical explanation.

"If Gefapixant becomes available it could be a gamechanger in respiratory medicine," Birring said. "It's a very effective treatment that works in most patients with chronic cough. It was found to be safe and effective in the clinical trial. It's a major advance in the field of cough.

He added: "It could be the first new drug to be approved for over 50 years. There's potentially thousands and thousands of patients who would be suitable to receive this treatment."

Chronic cough sufferers often have a very limited social life because they avoid gatherings in case their constant coughing irritates people around them.