Gefapixant Against Cough: A New Drug

Gefapixant is a new drug that promises to relieve the symptoms of chronic cough – a rather annoying symptom that disrupts the quality of life of many people around the world. Cough occurs in people of all ages and genders. Both women and men are equally sensitive to it. Today, we will talk about Gefapixant, a new effective cough medicine.

Chronic cough is not always caused by a respiratory infection. There are, in fact, other causes that can trigger it, including gastrointestinal.

This new drug, Gefapixant, could significantly improve the lives of those with chronic cough. We must continue to move forward with broader investigations with different developments. However, there is hope for those with chronic cough, even for those who have already tried several drugs without success.

Studies on the effects of Gefapixant on chronic cough

The most relevant recently published studies report the effectiveness of the drug. One was broader and was conducted on a larger number of subjects, so its scientific methodology is more robust. Another was smaller, but its findings are consistent with those of the first study.

The largest study was recently published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine. He evaluated the administration of 50 mg of Gefapixant in 253 patients. The treatment lasted 12 weeks and relieved chronic cough in 80% of cases.

The article reports that there was also a positive effect at a lower dose in a certain group of subjects. With only 7.5 mg of Gefapixant, more than 50% of patients reported reduced cough.

The smaller study included only 57 people, and the results were published in the European Journal of Respiration. He reports that the 30 mg dose was sufficient to manage the cough.

What is chronic cough?

Beyond the drug in question, it is important to understand what we mean when we say “chronic cough”. For those who do not have a chronic cough, it is difficult to imagine the problems caused by it.

From a medical point of view, a chronic cough is a cough that lasts more than six weeks. Then, the episodes are either constant or occur repeatedly in the same period each year. Sometimes there is a pause interval that repeats itself more or less the same.

About 5% of the general population suffers from chronic cough at some point in their lives. It may resolve spontaneously after a while or may persist despite treatment. What is certain is that there are no new drugs to alleviate the disorder.

The most common causes of chronic cough are:

• Heart failure

Some types of cough are not necessarily isolated symptoms. The medical situation may include other symptoms, such as epigastralgia, chest pain, heartburn (burning sensation in the esophagus), wheezing and shortness of breath, shortness of breath, etc.

Interestingly, this drug was not developed for chronic cough. In fact, the active ingredient was originally formulated as an analgesic. What happens is that its mechanism of action interferes with the P2X3 receptors of the nerves that regulate cough. Moreover, minimum doses are required to achieve the desired effect. Thus, there are few side effects.

Another advantage is the pharmacological field in which the industry intends to position it. It has been a long time since there have been any innovations in the treatment of cough. This has led to the emergence of all kinds of drugs whose effectiveness is unknown.

We need more research to go as far as approving and validating Gefapixant. The pharmaceutical company behind the discovery is funding the studies and is currently in its third phase to obtain certification of the substance.