Tokyo, Japan and Chippenham, UK - 13 December 2007: Sosei Group Corporation (“Sosei”; TSE Mothers Index: 4565) and Vectura Group plc (“Vectura”; LSE: VEC) announce the start, by Novartis, of a Phase II efficacy study of QVA149 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

QVA149 is a combination of NVA237, a once-daily long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) and indacaterol, a once-daily long-acting beta-2 agonist (LABA).

This second Phase II study is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-centre trial to determine the effect of QVA149 on lung function in patients with moderate to severe COPD.