2 July 2015 - - German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has received regulatory authority approvals for its SpioltoRespimat (tiotropium/olodaterol) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease maintenance treatment in some European countries, the company said on Thursday. Spiolto Respimat is a once-daily maintenance treatment to relieve symptoms in adult patients with COPD. Approvals of the treatment in other European countries are expected to follow in the coming months. Spiolto Respimat provides significant improvements in lung function, breathlessness, quality of life and rescue medication use over Spiriva right from the initial stages when patients need maintenance therapy. These additional benefits could enable patients to remain active and avoid the downward spiral of COPD for as long as possible. COPD is a chronic, progressive, treatable but incurable lung disease that affects 210 m people worldwide and is predicted to become the 3rd leading cause of death by 2030.  Patients are typically diagnosed when lung function is already significantly impaired and maintenance therapy is needed. They suffer from symptoms including breathlessness and coughing that often stop them from being active. This can lead to a downward spiral of worsening symptoms and even further inactivity,contributing to an increased risk of disability and death. The national regulatory approvals, following finalisation of the decentralised European regulatory procedure on 20th May, are based on data from the >5,000 patient TONADO 1 and 2 clinical trials. Spiolto Respimat is built on tiotropium, the active ingredient in Spiriva - the world's most prescribed COPD maintenance treatment with over 40m patient years of real life experience across all COPD severities.