Novartis AG (NOVN)’s experimental drug for smoker’s cough helped patients in a late-stage trial, and was at least as good as a treatment sold by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH and Pfizer Inc. (PFE) In a trial among 1,066 people, those receiving a daily dose of Novartis’s drug, known as NVA237, over 12 weeks were able to expel significantly more air from their lungs in one second than those who got a placebo, and more than those taking Boehringer and Pfizer’s Spiriva. The results were published in a summary of data scheduled to be presented at a conference this month.
