Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung condition that makes breathing progressively harder, usually from smoking or air pollution damage. It affects about 16 million Americans. Treatment centers on bronchodilators to open airways, steroids to reduce inflammation, oxygen therapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing new inhaled drugs that target specific inflammation pathways, biologics that block proteins driving COPD flares, and combinations that may work better than current triple therapy. Researchers are also studying lung regeneration approaches, earlier intervention in people at risk, and treatments for the anxiety and muscle wasting that often accompany severe COPD.
Anti-inflammatory biologics
Drugs like dupilumab, already approved for asthma, are being tested in COPD patients with high eosinophil counts. Early results suggest they may reduce flare-ups in this subset of patients.
Lung repair studies
Several trials are exploring whether stem cells or growth factors can regenerate damaged lung tissue. The goal is to reverse some of the structural damage rather than just managing symptoms.
Early intervention
Studies are testing whether treating people with smoking damage but not yet full COPD can prevent disease progression. This could shift care from late-stage management to prevention.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on lung function test results, smoking history, frequency of flare-ups, and whether you have certain inflammation markers in your blood.
What types of trials are currently open
- Inhaler trials — Testing new bronchodilators, steroids, or combination inhalers to see if they reduce symptoms and flare-ups better than current options.
- Biologic trials — Testing injectable drugs that target specific inflammation proteins, often in people whose COPD has features of asthma-like inflammation.
- Rehabilitation studies — Testing exercise programs, breathing techniques, and muscle-building interventions to improve quality of life and physical function.
- Oxygen and device trials — Testing new oxygen delivery systems, portable concentrators, or non-invasive ventilation devices for people with severe COPD.
- Prevention trials — Testing whether early treatment in smokers with mild airway damage can prevent progression to full COPD.
Recently added COPD trials
Share your asthma or COPD treatment data over 12 months
This prospective, real-world observational study (T2AIR Study) evaluates the long-term efficacy and safety of six biologics targeting Type 2 inflammation - omalizumab, mepolizumab, benralizumab, dupilumab, tezepelumab, and depemokimab - in patients with chronic airway diseases, including asthma and COPD under routine clinical practice in China. The primary objective is to determine the annualized exacerbation rate (AER) over 12 months of treatment. Secondary objectives include time to first exacerbation, frequency of severe exacerbations, improvements in symptom control and quality of life (using disease-specific questionnaires), lung function (FEV₁, FVC), airway inflammatory biomarkers (FeNO, blood eosinophils, serum IgE), oral corticosteroid (OCS) sparing effect in asthma patients, and treatment persistence. Safety outcomes will assess the incidence, types, and severity of adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs). Exploratory endpoints include high-resolution CT (HRCT)-based imaging markers of airway remodeling and the development of deep learning-based multimodal predictive models integrating clinical, biomarker, and radiomics data to support personalized treatment. Additionally, blood, sputum, and urine samples will be collected for translational research to explore underlying mechanisms and predictors of biologic response. This study aims to generate robust real-world evidence on the effectiveness and safety of Type 2-targeted biologics across the broad spectrum of chronic airway diseases in a diverse Chinese patient population.
Try nebulized maintenance therapy if your handheld inhaler isn't working
Multi-site, randomized controlled trial to determine whether patients who report NO symptomatic benefit with their maintenance hand-held inhaler(s), benefit upon switching to nebulized therapy using comparable classes of medications.
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