Novartis has filed for European marketing authorisation of its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment, Seebri Breezhaler.

The filing follows new Phase III data, presented by Novartis at the European Respiratory Society congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which indicated that the drug significantly increases a patient’s lung function.

The drug, previously known as NVA237, is a long-acting muscarinic antagonist. It is intended to be taken once daily and is capable of fast onset of action with its first dose.

As per the terms of the 2005 licensing agreement with Novartis, Japanese biopharmaceutical company Sosei will receive a $5m milestone payment.