Ensifentrine Improves Lung Function in Chinese Patients With COPD: Study

A new study published in the CHEST Journal showed that in addition to improving respiratory symptoms and quality of life, ensifentrine dramatically increased lung function in Chinese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

COPD is a progressive respiratory illness that affects around 100 million individuals in China. Despite typical inhalation treatments, many patients continue to have symptoms, prompting the development of new medications.

Ensifentrine, a new dual PDE3/4 inhibitor, has shown considerable bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory activity in Western populations, increasing lung function and lowering exacerbations. Because medication reactions differ by ethnicity, and clinical data for Chinese populations are scarce despite comparable pharmacokinetics, the ENHANCE-CHINA research was developed to assess ensifentrine's effectiveness and safety in Chinese COPD patients.

Between March 2023 and March 2025, the participants with moderate to severe symptomatic COPD were recruited for the trial and randomly assigned over a 24-week period to either the ensifentrine group or the placebo group (5:3).

Participants were divided into groups based on their smoking status and maintenance treatment. Improvement in lung function as determined by the FEV1 area under the curve at 0 to 12 hours was the main outcome. Quality of life, symptoms, and exacerbations were additional end goals.

When compared to a placebo, ensifentrine was shown to be both highly efficacious and well-tolerated in an examination of 525 patients, over half of whom were using concomitant maintenance drugs.

Over the course of a 12-hour period, the therapy considerably increased the patients' lung capacity; these advantages held true regardless of the patients' COPD severity or whether they were receiving additional maintenance treatments.

Patients using ensifentrine reported general improvements in their respiratory symptoms and quality of life, as well as significantly reduced dyspnea and improved lung function.

Additionally, the drug tended to postpone a patient's initial exacerbation and lessen the frequency of moderate-to-severe flare-ups.

Crucially, ensifentrine users and placebo users experienced identical rates of side events, suggesting a similar safety profile.

Overall, ensifentrine significantly improved lung function in Chinese subjects with moderate to severe COPD when compared to placebo. Furthermore, ensifentrine was found to enhance symptoms and quality of life, as well as a trend toward reducing exacerbations, which is consistent with prior worldwide research.

Reference:

Zhou, Y., Chen, C., Wang, Z., Wu, F., Tian, D., Xiao, Z., Cao, J., Xu, F., Gao, J., Chen, J., Peng, L., Dai, Y., Dong, L., Hu, Y., Yang, T., Liu, C., Wang, L., Liu, X., Yang, T., … ENHANCE-CHINA Investigators. (2026). Efficacy and safety of ensifentrine in Chinese participants with COPD: The ENHANCE-CHINA randomized clinical trial. Chest, 170(1), 88–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2026.02.035