Long Term Safety and Tolerability of QVA149 Versus Tiotropium in Japanese Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (ARISE)

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with moderate to severe stable COPD (Stage II or Stage III) according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) Guidelines 2008.
• Current or ex-smokers who have a smoking history of at least 10 pack years. (Ten pack years are defined as 20 cigarettes a day for 10 years, or 10 cigarettes a day for 20 years etc.)
• Patients with post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) ≥30% and < 80% of the predicted normal, and post-bronchodilator FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) < 0.7 at Visit 2.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant women or nursing mothers or women of child-bearing potential not using an acceptable method of contraception
• Patients requiring long term oxygen therapy
• Patients who have had a lower respiratory tract infection within 4 weeks prior to Visit 1
• Patients with concomitant pulmonary disease
• Patients with a history of asthma
• Any patient with history of malignancy of any organ system (including lung cancer), treated or untreated, within the past 5 years
• Patients with a history of certain cardiovascular comorbid conditions
• Patients with a known history and diagnosis of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
• Patients in the active phase of a supervised pulmonary rehabilitation program
• Patients contraindicated for treatment with, or having a history of reactions/ hypersensitivity to anticholinergic agents, long and short acting beta-2 agonists, sympathomimetic amines

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply