Respiratory Clinical Trials & Studies

More than 545 million people across the globe (7.4% of the world’s population) are currently living with a chronic respiratory condition.¹  

A chronic respiratory disease is any long-term condition that affects the lungs and the airways, for example, asthma and COPD.² Respiratory conditions are caused by a complex interplay of genetics, the immune system and lifestyle, with different patients often responding to different treatments.³ 

Clinical research aims to understand the mechanism by which these conditions occur to discover new modes of treatment. For instance, one of the key avenues in current respiratory disease research is the study of inflammatory biomarkers.⁴ 

Respiratory clinical trials are important when we consider the scale and impact of these conditions: 

• 300 million adults worldwide are affected by asthma.⁵ 
• More than 212 million reported cases of COPD.⁶ 
• Nasal polyps affect as much as 4% of the world population.⁷  
• RSV causes over 3.6 million hospitalizations every year.⁸ 
• Influenza (flu) season has led to at least 47 million illnesses and 610,000 hospitalizations in 2025.⁹ 
• 197 million pneumonia episodes worldwide occurred in 2016 due to pneumococcal disease.¹⁰ 

Sanofi recognizes the unmet needs and challenges for respiratory patients worldwide.  

For respiratory conditions like COPD, patients not responding to available treatments is a common occurrence.¹¹ At Sanofi we have accelerated research and development to understand the different pathways involved in inflammation, and are leveraging artificial intelligence and data analysis platforms to research new treatment options.  

Read our Every Breath Matters blog to learn more about Sanofi’s respiratory research.

Recruitment for respiratory clinical trials is a multistep rigorous process. Volunteers typically learn about clinical trials by suggestion from their healthcare provider or independent research from public sources, like the US Clinical Trials Registry.  

Once a volunteer expresses their interest to participate in a clinical trial, they are provided with a patient information sheet and an informed consent form. A member of the medical staff conducting the trials will explain the objectives of the clinical trial, the process and any potential risks.  

Not every volunteer interested in a clinical trial may be eligible for the study. Each clinical trial has specific inclusion criteria for participants based on factors like medical history, severity of condition, previous treatments used and more. When the prospective participant has signed the informed consent form, they undergo a process called clinical trial screening. The screening process involves a recommendation from a healthcare provider, medical history review, physical exams and diagnostic tests relevant to the clinical trial.  

If the volunteer is found to be eligible based on the screening results, they can move on to participating in the trial. All participants in a clinical trial are volunteers, and can withdraw at any point for any reason. Learn more about the clinical trial recruitment process at Sanofi: