An experimental asthma drug under development by Novartis AG works quickly and lasts for 24 hours in patients with asthma and smoker’s lung, data from a study released on Monday showed. Novartis said its indacaterol drug, formerly known as QAB149, was well-tolerated in patients and worked when administered just once a day, unlike other drugs of its kind which need twice-daily dosing. “The combination of 24-hour efficacy and a reassuring safety profile suggest that in time, a once-daily dose of indacaterol could become a new standard of care for bronchodilation in asthma and COPD,” said Joerg Reinhardt, Novartis’s head of development.