AstraZeneca Promotes New COPD Countermeasures Aimed at Extending Healthy Life Expectancy in Koriyama City

AstraZeneca Corporation (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Osaka; President: Takashi Horii; hereinafter referred to as AstraZeneca) and Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture (Mayor: Takeo Shiine; hereinafter referred to as Koriyama City) have jointly promoted new Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) countermeasures aimed at extending healthy life expectancy. A "COPD Countermeasures Collaboration Kick-off Seminar" was held on March 27, 2026, for individuals involved in regional healthcare. This seminar, as part of the "Collaboration Agreement on Promoting Health Promotion for Koriyama Citizens, etc." signed in July 2025, brought together diverse stakeholders from industry, government, and academia. Its purpose was to develop a regional healthcare system for extending healthy life expectancy by promoting early detection and early treatment of COPD.

COPD is estimated to affect approximately 5.3 million people in Japan (1), yet only about 382,000 patients are receiving treatment (2), suggesting that approximately 5 million people are undiagnosed or untreated potential patients. In 2023, the number of deaths due to COPD reached approximately 16,000 (3). The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Health Japan 21 (Third Term)" has set a new numerical target to reduce the COPD mortality rate per 100,000 population to 10.0 by fiscal year 2032. COPD is also known to affect cardiovascular events such as chronic heart failure due to exacerbations (4), making the establishment of a system for early consultation, diagnosis, and treatment of COPD extremely important in Koriyama City. While Koriyama City has previously prioritized COPD as a key health issue and has been working on it, the limited number of specialized respiratory medical institutions has posed a challenge in building a patient acceptance system. From left: AstraZeneca Corporation Executive Officer, Head of Medical Affairs, Tanaka; Head of Policy and Business Strategy, Hattori; Koriyama Medical Association Chairman, Tsuboi; Koriyama City Mayor, Shiine; Fukushima Medical University, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Professor and Chairman, Shibata; Mominoki Clinic Director, Fukui; Koriyama City Public Health Center, Health Promotion Division, Manager, Yamaguchi (Titles omitted).

The new COPD countermeasures shared at the seminar will be advanced through collaboration between Koriyama City, the Koriyama Medical Association, primary care physicians, specialized respiratory medical institutions, academia, and corporations, with a focus on promoting early consultation, early diagnosis, and early treatment led by the region. Koriyama City will encourage residents, including those receiving treatment for other conditions such as heart disease, who are at high risk for COPD to consult a doctor through individual notifications. For diagnosis, it will create a list of medical institutions capable of initial diagnosis as "Cooperating Medical Institutions" based on Fukushima Prefecture's unique diagnostic tool, the "COPD-F Protocol," thereby establishing a regional acceptance system for COPD medical care.

This will clarify the referral and return referral flow between primary care physicians, cooperating medical institutions, and regional respiratory specialized facilities. After diagnosis, appropriate treatment interventions will be provided in accordance with guidelines, leading to continuous management throughout the region, including collaboration with the cardiovascular field, aiming to suppress exacerbations and extend healthy life expectancy. Furthermore, with the utilization of medical DX in view, effectiveness will be verified using indicators such as consultation rates, diagnosis rates, treatment initiation rates, exacerbations/hospitalizations, and medical costs, with continuous improvement based on the PDCA cycle. Through these initiatives, we aim to visualize the results as a sustainable and reproducible regional model from Koriyama City and provide evidence that contributes to nationwide expansion and national policy formation.

Statement on COPD Countermeasures Aimed at Extending Healthy Life Expectancy in Koriyama City At this seminar, discussions were held on the necessity of COPD countermeasures, specific challenges, and initiatives in Koriyama City. Additionally, the "Koriyama City COPD Countermeasures Statement" was announced, outlining future directions through collaboration between industry, government, and academia. This statement presents the basic concept for building a sustainable and innovative regional model to further promote the health and extend the healthy life expectancy of Koriyama citizens.