In the UK, mild exacerbations are treated in primary care, but in China more are admitted to hospital. Antibiotics are widely used to treat exacerbations and NICE guidelines recommend their use. Many patients require several courses of antibiotics to treat their episode. Treatment with antibiotics (especially longer courses and repeated courses), and admission to hospital, all increase the risk of AMR. It is estimated AMR will be responsible for 10 million deaths by 2050. In China, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are already found in about one in three patients with acute exacerbations of COPD.
Preliminary research in China has suggested that use of a patent traditional Chinese medicine (PTCM), called "Shufeng Jiedu" (SFJD), when given together with antibiotics to patients with AECOPD, can reduce risk of admission to hospital, and duration of admission.
The UK-China collaborating project brings together leading experts at University of Southampton and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and a consortium of industry partners (Anhui Jiren pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Phoenix Medical Ltd), to work on three linked studies with aims to:
- Investigate the antimicrobial properties of SFJD in the human lung tissue using a laboratory-based model;
- Implement a feasibility trial (EXCALIBUR): to determine the feasibility of conducting a fully powered clinical trial of SFJD in addition to best current practice for AECOPD in primary care in the UK; and
- Compile a full dossier on SFJD, including non-clinical and clinical evidence on each of its eight component herbs and interactions between and among these herbs, to enable its registration as a Traditional Medicinal Product in the UK, and to facilitate an application for a clinical trials license to conduct a full-scale clinical trial in the UK.
This project will provide novel findings on using herbal medicine in human lung explant, produce feasibility findings for a future full trial for SJFD, and will build up the application for the first patent herbal mixture to be registered in the UK/EU countries.
Local Investigators:
Prof Michael Moore, Prof Gareth Griffith, Prof Tom Wilkinson, Prof Mike Thomas, Prof Nick Francis, Dr Merlin Willcox, Dr Xiao-Yang (Mio) Hu
Funder: This project is funded by Innovate UK and Phoenix Medical Ltd (grant no. 104287-610239).
Duration: 1st April 2019, end date: 31st March 2022
CHAT COPD Website (In progress)
