May camlipixant improve quality of life of patients with refractory chronic cough?

Both objective cough frequency and patient-reported cough severity improved significantly in patients with refractory chronic cough (RCC) if they were treated with camlipixant, results from the phase 2b SOOTHE trial demonstrated.

Camlipixant is a selective P2X3 receptor inhibitor that is being tested as a potential therapy for patients with RCC. The SOOTHE trial (NCT04678206) randomised 249 patients to placebo (n=63) or to 1 of 3 dose groups of camlipixant; 12.5 mg, twice daily; 50 mg, twice daily; or 200 mg, twice daily [1]. “The primary outcome of ‘change in objective cough frequency’ was presented at last year’s meeting,” said Dr Lorcan McGarvey (Queen’s University Belfast, UK) [2]. “However, we need to know whether the quality of life of patients with RCC improves if they are treated with camlipixant.” For this purpose, Dr McGarvey presented the outcomes of patient-reported cough severity, assessed by the cough severity visual analog scale (VAS).

At day 15, all treatment groups demonstrated significant improvements in the cough severity VAS, with mean changes of -16.1 mm for the lowest dose group, -22.9 mm for the intermediate dose group, and -26.5 mm for the highest dose group, compared with a mean change of -3.7 mm for patients in the placebo group (P<0.001 for all). “The treatment effects appeared to become larger at day 29,” added Dr McGarvey. Furthermore, on day 29, 44% of the patients in the highest dose group achieved a response rate ≥30 mm on the cough severity VAS, implying that this agent may instigate a clinically meaningful improvement in quality of life in a significant proportion of patients.

In conclusion, the SOOTHE trial displayed that camlipixant may have the potential to improve the objective cough frequency and the quality of life of patients with RCC.

1. McGarvey L, et al. Response in patient-reported cough severity in SOOTHE, a phase 2b trial of camlipixant in refractory chronic cough. Session A99, ATS International Conference 2023, 19–24 May, Washington DC, USA.
2. Smith J, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2022;205:A5778.

Copyright ©2023 Medicom Medical Publishers

Posted on 25 May, 2023