touchMEETING HIGHLIGHTS Advances in understanding COPD
Join leading experts as they discuss the latest advances in understanding COPD, originally presented by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in two symposia at ERS 2023 and GOLD 2023.
Prof. Klaus Rabe and Dr Stephanie Christenson explore COPD’s clinical presentation through disease pathology, emphasizing its diverse inflammatory pathways.
Drs Stephen Rennard and Igor Barjaktarevic discuss the diverse clinical aspects of COPD, emphasizing the role of inflammation and the importance of recognizing the heterogeneity of COPD.
Overview & Learning Objectives
Overview
ERS 2023: The impact of type 2 inflammation on COPD: Examining its role in disease pathology
Join Klaus Rabe, MD, PhD, and Stephanie Christenson, MD, PhD, as they dive into the intricate relationship between clinical presentation and disease pathology in COPD and shed light on the diverse inflammatory pathways that contribute to its heterogeneity. Their discussion offers valuable insights into understanding the complexity of inflammatory mechanisms driving COPD.
GOLD 2023: Beyond a one size fits all approach: Recognizing the heterogeneity of COPD
Join Drs Stephen Rennard and Igor Barjaktarevic as they explore the heterogeneous clinical presentation of COPD, addressing variations in severity, symptoms, and comorbidities. Diving into the role of underlying inflammation in COPD pathology, they highlight its connection to clinical features while also discussing the evolving role of biomarker assessments and endotyping in enhancing our understanding of COPD.
Learning Objectives
After watching the ERS 2023 symposium highlights, participants should be better able to:
- Describe the clinical consequences of COPD through an understanding of pathological changes
- Understand the spectrum of inflammatory pathways and the role of type 2 inflammation in COPD pathophysiology
After watching the GOLD 2023 symposium highlights, participants should be better able to:
- Understand the heterogeneous clinical presentation of COPD (e.g. severity, level of control, symptoms, multimorbidities)
- Review the role of underlying inflammation in COPD pathology and its link to clinical features
- Review the role of biomarker assessments and endotyping in COPD
Faculty & Disclosures
Prof. Klaus Rabe
Lungen Clinic, Grosshansdorf, Germany
Klaus F. Rabe, MD, PhD, FERS, is Professor of Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Kiel and Director of the Department of Pneumology, LungClinic Grosshansdorf, Germany.
Prof. Rabe is a Fellow and Past President of the European Respiratory Society and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the German Center for Lung Research. He is the Past President of the German Chest Society, and a member of the British Pharmacological Society and the American Thoracic Society. He has served on committees for the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease.
Prof. Rabe serves on the editorial board of several journals including the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and is past Chief Editor of the European Respiratory Journal. He received several distinctions including the Balzan award in 2019.
Prof. Rabe has been active in various fields of respiratory medicine worldwide. His current scientific interests are related to large clinical trials in COPD and asthma, the mechanisms of airway inflammation, and early determinants of lung health. Prof. Rabe has been involved in many major COPD trials, including the pivotal studies on phosphodiesterase inhibitors and biologics for asthma and COPD.
Prof. Rabe discloses:
Grants and research support from the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT). Honoraria or consultation fees from AstraZeneca, Berlin-Chemie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, GlaxoSmithKline, Menarini, Novartis, Sanofi, Regeneron, and Verona Pharma. Other support/potential conflict of interest: Director of the Airway Research Center North (ARCN) within the Deutsche Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL)
Dr Stephanie Christenson
University of California, San Francisco, United States
Dr Christenson earned her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. At UCSF, she completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine and a master of advanced study degree in clinical research. She currently is a member of the American Thoracic Society.
Dr Stephanie Christenson cares for patients in the intensive care unit as well as patients with lung disease in the clinic.
Dr Christenson discloses:
Financial relations with a commercial interest from AstraZeneca (consultant), GlaxoSmithKline (consultant), Glenmark (consultant), Sanofi/Regeneron (consultant), and UpToDate (writer).
Dr Stephen I. Rennard
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska, United States
Stephen I. Rennard is Professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Division at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). He also serves as medical director of the Alpha 1 Foundation Therapeutic Development Network and as president of Great Plains Biometrix. He is a fellow at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, since 2016 and a fellow of the National Strategic Research Institute since 2021.
In addition to clinical work in pulmonary and critical care medicine, Professor Rennard’s research has focused on mechanisms of tissue remodeling and repair and clinical studies particularly related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and smoking cessation, translational medicine, including observational and clinical therapeutic trials, and advanced clinical trial design, lung regeneration, and the use of technology for remote clinical data collection.
Dr Rennard discloses:
Consulting relationships with Sanofi, Verona Pharma, Beyond Air, and Roche. Shareholder for AstraZeneca. Other potential conflicts of interest: serves as founder and president of Great Plains Biometrics and medical director for Alpha-1 Foundation Therapeutic Development Network.
Dr Igor Barjaktarevic
UCLA Health, California, United States
As Assistant Professor of Medicine and a Medical Director of COPD Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Dr Barjaktarevic leads the clinical and research projects in COPD and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency syndrome.
With fairly extensive background in the field of pulmonary immunology where Dr. Barjaktarevic obtained a PhD in 2016 in collaborative project between University of Belgrade and Weill Cornell in New York, his research experience expands from basic science and experiments on laboratory animals to complete conduction of clinical or translational studies.
Dr Barjaktarevic discloses:
Funding from NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, COPD Foundation, Alpha-1 Foundation, and Johnny Carson’s Foundation. Grants from Theravance, Viatris, GE Healthcare, Takeda, and Aerogen. Consulting relationships with Inhibrx, Grifols, Takeda, Sanofi, Regeneron, Verona Pharma, and AstraZeneca.