efficacy and tolerability study in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients - SECURE2

Inclusion Criteria

• - Signed and dated informed consent
• - Men or women patients ≥ 40 years of age
• - Diagnosis of COPD with symptoms for more than 2 years and there is a history of at least one COPD exacerbation requiring a course of oral steroids and/or antibiotics within 1-12 months before Visit 2
• - Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) ≤50% of predicted normal value, pre-bronchodilator and Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) / Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) < 70%, pre-bronchodilator
• - Total symptom score of 2 or more per day for at least half of run-in period (breathing, cough and sputum scores from the diary card) and complete morning recordings of Digital Peak Flow Meter data at least 7 out of the last 10 days of the run-in period