Safety and Efficacy of Indacaterol Once Daily Versus Salmeterol Twice Daily in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged ≥ 40 years * Diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (moderate to severe as classified by the GOLD Guidelines, 2007) and: * Smoking history of at least 10 pack years * Post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) \< 80% and ≥ 30% of the predicted normal value at screening * Post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC (forced vital capacity) \< 70% at screening Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who have received systemic corticosteroids for a COPD exacerbation in the 6 weeks prior to screening or during the run-in period * Patients requiring long-term oxygen therapy (\> 15 h a day) for chronic hypoxemia * Patients who have had a respiratory tract infection within 6 weeks prior to screening * Patients with concomitant pulmonary disease * Patients with a history of asthma * Patients with diabetes Type I or uncontrolled diabetes Type II * Any patient with lung cancer or a history of lung cancer * 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 (Fridericia's) measured at screening is prolonged * Patients who have been vaccinated with live attenuated vaccines within 30 days prior to screening or during the run-in period * Patients unable to successfully use a dry powder inhaler device or perform spirometry measurements Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria applied to the study.