Clinicians chat beta-blockers, dupilumab, ensifentrine for COPD on X in first half of 2024

Key takeaways:

• Studies on the beta-blocker bisoprolol and dupilumab presented at the ATS Conference gained attention from clinicians on X.
• Ensifentrine/Ohtuvayre was also discussed on X because of its FDA approval.

In the first half of 2024, many posts on X, formerly Twitter, from U.S. health care professionals discussing COPD treatments focused on beta-blockers, dupilumab and ensifentrine, according to a tracker from Creation Healthcare.

In an analysis spanning January to June 2024, Creation Healthcare evaluated 1,493 COPD-related posts on X, to find out major topics discussed by U.S. health care professionals (HCPs) on this platform.

These COPD-related posts came from a total of 750 HCPs, according to the release.

As Healio previously reported, one of the topics captured by researchers was discussion on COPD therapy types.

Another main topic that was tracked in this analysis was COPD treatments, and much of the online conversation about these treatments took place during the American Thoracic Society International Conference.

“During the week of the ATS 2024 Conference, the volume of HCP posts was 269% higher than usual,” Jamie Doggett, associate director of research at Creation Healthcare, told Healio.

Two specific studies presented at the conference gained attention from HCPs on X. The first one was simultaneously published in JAMA and found that treatment with beta-blocker bisoprolol yielded a similar yearly rate of COPD exacerbations that require oral corticosteroids and/or antibiotics to placebo.

An additional outcome of this study was that both the bisoprolol group and the placebo group had around 14% of patients who experienced serious adverse events.

The finding that the beta-blocker did not raise the rate of serious adverse events was the takeaway highlighted by Michal Pazdernik, MD, PhD, FESC, deputy director for education in the cardiology department at IKEM Prague, when he posted about the study on May 21. As of Aug. 1, the post had 47 reposts and 133 likes.

Another popular post stating that use of beta-blockers in patients with COPD is OK came from Josh Farkas, MD, assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Vermont, on April 15. In the post, he also asks politely to “stop propagating the myth that you can’t use beta-blockers in COPD patients.” As of Aug. 1, the post had 51 reposts, 288 likes and 58 bookmarks.

The second study presented at ATS that sparked discussion among HCPs on X was the NOTUS trial. As Healio previously reported, with dupilumab (Dupixent; Regeneron, Sanofi) vs. placebo, adults with moderate to severe COPD and type 2 inflammation experienced fewer exacerbations and had better lung function at week 52. Notably, this study was simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

“Overall, there were 20 individual HCP mentions of the NOTUS trial,” Doggett told Healio.

Prior to the ATS conference, MeiLan K. Han, MD, MS, professor of medicine and chief of pulmonology and critical care medicine at the University of Michigan, mentioned dupilumab in a post on March 22, which was around a month after the FDA granted priority review to the drug for COPD with type 2 inflammation.

One additional COPD treatment that gained attention on X was ensifentrine (Ohtuvayre; Verona Pharma) because the FDA approved the phosphodiesterase enzyme 3 and 4 inhibitor for treating adults with COPD in late June.

This announcement was posted on the official Verona Pharma account and had 17 reposts and 37 likes as of Aug. 1. The release from Creation Healthcare noted that excitement from HCPs over this news was seen on X.

Reference:

• Price caps, emerging treatments, and influential voices: HCPs’ online COPD conversations revealed. https://creation.co/press-release/price-caps-emerging-treatments-and-influential-voices-hcps-online-copd-conversations-revealed/. Published July 23, 2024. Accessed Aug. 2, 2024.