Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: A 64-week Treatment, Multi-center, Randomized, Double-blind, Parallel-group, Active Controlled Study to Evaluate the Effect of QVA149 (110/50 μg o.d.) vs NVA237 (50 μg o.d.) and Open-label Tiotropium (18 μg o.d.) on COPD Exacerbations in Patients With Severe to Very Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Brief Summary: This study is designed to assess the effect of once-daily QVA149 on COPD exacerbations in patients with severe to very severe COPD.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* All patients must have a clinical diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease according to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines.
* Patients must have a cigarette smoking history of more than 10 pack-years
* Patients must be clinically stable and at least 4 weeks from last acute exacerbation (and return to baseline level of symptoms)
* Patients must have an FEV1 of less than 80% of predicted values with FEV1 to FVC ratio of less than 0.70 (post-bronchodilator values)
* Men or women ≥ 45 years of age
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Male and female adults aged ≥ 40 years, who have signed an Informed Consent Form prior to initiation of any study-related procedure
* Co-operative outpatients with a diagnosis of COPD (moderate to severe as classified by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (GOLD) Guidelines, 2005) and:

  * Smoking history of at least 20 pack years
  * Post-bronchodilator FEV1 \< 80% and ≥ 30% of the predicted normal value.
  * Post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC \< 70% (Post refers to within 30 min of inhalation of 400 µg of salbutamol)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Pregnant or lactating females
* Patients who have been hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation in the 6 weeks prior to Visit 1 or during the run-in period
* Patients requiring long term oxygen therapy (\> 15 h a day)
* Patients who have had a respiratory tract infection 6 weeks prior to V1 (with further criteria)
* Patients with concomitant pulmonary disease, pulmonary tuberculosis, or clinically significant bronchiectasis
* Patients with a history of asthma (with further criteria)
* Patients with Type I or uncontrolled Type II diabetes
* Patients with contraindications for tiotropium
* Patients who have clinically relevant laboratory abnormalities or a clinically significant abnormality
* Any patient with active cancer or a history of cancer with less than 5 years disease free survival time
* Patients with a history of long QT syndrome or whose QTc interval is prolonged
* Patients with a hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs or drugs with similar chemical structures
* Patients who have had treatment with the investigational drug (with further criteria)
* Patients who have had live attenuated vaccinations within 30 days prior to visit 1, or during run-in period
* Patients with known history of non compliance to medication
* Patients unable to satisfactorily use a dry powder inhaler device or perform spirometry measurements

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply
C: Inclusion Criteria :

1. Male or female adults aged ≥40 years, who had signed an informed consent form prior to initiation of any study-related procedure.
2. Patients with severe to very severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease COPD (Stage III or IV) according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) Guidelines 2008.
3. Current or ex-smokers with a smoking history of at least 10 pack years (Ten pack-years were defined as 20 cigarettes a day for 10 years, or 10 cigarettes a day for 20 years).
4. Patients with a post-bronchodilator Forced Expiratory Volume in one second ( FEV1) \<50% of the predicted normal value, and post-bronchodilator FEV1/ Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) \<0.70 at Visit 2 (day -14). (Post refers to 1 h after sequential inhalation of 84 µg (or equivalent dose) of ipratropium bromide and 400 µg of salbutamol).
5. A documented history of at least 1 COPD exacerbation in the previous 12 months that required treatment with systemic glucocorticosteroids and/or antibiotics.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Pregnant women or nursing mothers (pregnancy confirmed by positive urine pregnancy test).
2. Women of child-bearing potential
3. Patients requiring long term oxygen therapy (\> 15 h a day) on a daily basis for chronic hypoxemia.
4. Patients who had a COPD exacerbation that required treatment with antibiotics, systemic steroids (oral or intravenous) or hospitalization in the 6 weeks prior to visit 1 or between visit 1 (Day -21) and Visit 3 (Day 1).
5. Patients who developed a COPD exacerbation during a period between visit 1 and 3 were ineligible but were permitted to be re-screened after a minimum of 6 weeks after the resolution of the COPD exacerbation.
6. Patients who had a respiratory tract infection within 4 weeks prior to visit 1 (Day -21)

   • Patients who developed an upper or lower respiratory tract infection during the screening period (up to visit 3 (Day 1) were not eligible, but were permitted to be re-screened 4 weeks after the resolution of the respiratory tract infection
7. Patients with concomitant pulmonary disease, e.g. pulmonary tuberculosis (unless confirmed by chest x-ray to be no longer active), clinically significant bronchiectasis, sarcoidosis, interstitial lung disorder or pulmonary hypertension.
8. Patients with lung lobectomy, or lung volume reduction or lung transplantation.
9. Patients who, in the judgment of the investigator, have a clinically relevant laboratory abnormality or a clinically significant condition such as (but not limited to):

   * Unstable ischemic heart disease, left ventricular failure, history of myocardial infarction, arrhythmia (excluding chronic stable Atrial Fibrillation (AF). Patients with such events not considered clinically significant by the investigator may be considered for inclusion in the study
   * history of malignancy of any organ system (including lung cancer), treated or untreated, within the past 5 years whether or not there is evidence of local recurrence or metastases, with the exception of localized basal cell carcinoma of the skin
   * uncontrolled hypo- or hyperthyroidism, hypokalemia or hyper adrenergic state
   * narrow-angle glaucoma
   * Symptomatic prostatic hyperplasia or bladder-neck obstruction or moderate to severe renal impairment or urinary retention. (Patients with a Transurethral Resection of Prostate (TURP) were excluded from the study. Patients who underwent full re-section of the prostate could be considered for the study, as well as patients who were asymptomatic and stable on pharmacological treatment for the condition).
   * any condition which might have compromised patient safety or compliance, interfered with evaluation, or precluded completion of the study
10. Patients with any history of asthma indicated by (but not limited to) a blood eosinophil count \> 600/mm3 (at visit 2), or onset of symptoms prior to 40 years. Patients without asthma were excluded if their eosinophil count was \>600/mm3 at visit 2.
11. Patients with allergic rhinitis who used H1 antagonists or intranasal corticosteroids intermittently (treatment with a constant dose was permitted).
12. Patients with eczema (atopic), known high immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels or a known positive skin prick test in the last 5 years.
13. Patients with known history and diagnosis of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
14. Patients who were participating in the active phase of a supervised pulmonary rehabilitation program.
15. Patients with Type I or uncontrolled Type II diabetes.
16. Patients contraindicated for treatment with, or having a history of reactions/ hypersensitivity to any of the following inhaled drugs or drugs of a similar class or any component thereof:

    * anticholinergic agents
    * long and short acting beta-2 agonists
    * sympathomimetic amines.
17. Patients with a history of long QT syndrome or whose corrected QT interval (QTc) measured at visit 2 (Day -14) (Fridericia method) was prolonged (\>450 ms for males and females) as confirmed by the central ECG assessor.
18. Patients with a clinically significant abnormality on the screening or baseline ECG who in the judgment of the investigator would be at potential risk if enrolled into the study. (These patients could not be re-screened).
19. Patients who needed treatments for COPD and allied conditions after the start of the study (visit 1)
20. Patients who needed treatments for COPD and allied conditions (e.g. allergic rhinitis) unless they had been stabilized
21. Patients taking other prohibited medications
22. Patients unable to use a dry powder inhaler (e.g. single dose dry powder inhaler (SDDPI), HandiHaler® device, or pressurized Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) (rescue medication).
23. Patients unable to use an electronic patient diary.
24. Patients who were, in the opinion of the investigator known to be unreliable or non-compliant.
25. Patients who used other investigational drugs at the time of enrollment, or within 30 days or 5 half-lives of visit 1 (day -21), whichever was longer.
26. Patients who had live attenuated vaccination within 30 days prior to the screening visit or during the run-in period. Inactivated influenza vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination or any other inactivated vaccine was acceptable provided it was not administered within 48 hours prior to screening and randomization visits.

No additional exclusions were applied by the investigator, in order to ensure that the study population was representative of all eligible patients.
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Males and females aged ≥ 40 years with a clinical diagnosis of moderate to severe stable COPD

Exclusion Criteria:

* History or current diagnosis of asthma, recent respiratory tract infection or acute COPD exacerbation, life expectancy of less than 1 year, known symptomatic prostatic hypertrophy, bladder neck obstruction or narrow-angle glaucoma

Answer: C