Boehringer Ingelheim has registered a new Phase III clinical trial to evaluate verducatib, an experimental oral medicine for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The global study, named AIRWARD, will investigate whether the drug can reduce disease flare-ups in patients who continue to experience symptoms despite receiving standard treatment.
Announced on October 30, 2026, the trial has been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier NCT07907991. It will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of verducatib in adults with symptomatic COPD who have blood eosinophil counts below 300 cells per microlitre.
The AIRWARD study is expected to enrol approximately 1,800 participants aged 40 years and older across 450 clinical sites in more than 25 countries. Participants will receive either verducatib 2.5 mg or a placebo, alongside their usual COPD treatment.
The main objective is to determine whether verducatib can reduce the annual number of moderate or severe COPD exacerbations. The treatment period will last at least 52 weeks and may extend to 76 weeks.
Researchers will also assess how long it takes for patients to experience their first moderate or severe exacerbation, changes in lung function and improvements in quality of life.
COPD is a long-term lung disease that makes breathing difficult. People with the condition often experience coughing, breathlessness and repeated flare-ups that can lead to hospitalisation and further damage to lung function.
One of the major challenges in COPD treatment is persistent inflammation in the lungs. In around 60% to 90% of people with COPD, this inflammation is mainly driven by neutrophils, a type of white blood cell involved in the body’s immune response.
When neutrophils become overactive, they release enzymes that can damage lung tissue and contribute to repeated disease flare-ups. Many patients continue to experience these problems even while receiving existing treatments, creating a need for medicines that target the underlying causes of inflammation.
Verducatib, also known as BI 1291583, is an investigational oral inhibitor of an enzyme called dipeptidyl peptidase 1 (DPP1). This enzyme plays an important role in activating neutrophil serine proteases, which are involved in inflammation and tissue damage.
By blocking DPP1, verducatib is designed to prevent the activation of these enzymes and reduce persistent neutrophil-driven inflammation. The approach could potentially help reduce COPD flare-ups and influence mucus production in the lungs.
Dr. MeiLan K. Han, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan Health, is the principal investigator of the AIRWARD trial. She highlighted the need for treatments that address neutrophil-driven inflammation, particularly in patients who continue to experience exacerbations despite current therapies.
Shashank Deshpande, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors and Head of Human Pharma at Boehringer Ingelheim, said the trial represents an important step in expanding the company’s verducatib development programme into COPD.
Beyond COPD, Boehringer Ingelheim is also evaluating verducatib in the Phase III AIRTIVITY trial for bronchiectasis, another chronic lung condition associated with airway inflammation and repeated respiratory infections.
The AIRWARD trial will provide important information about whether targeting DPP1 can offer meaningful benefits to people with COPD. However, verducatib remains an investigational medicine and has not been approved by any regulatory authority for COPD or any other indication.
The results of this study could help determine whether the drug has the potential to become a new treatment option for patients who continue to experience COPD flare-ups despite existing therapies.