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Safety of Three Asthma Drugs is Considered

Posted on: Wednesday, 13 July 2005, 12:00 CDT

A panel of lung experts was considering Wednesday whether to ban the asthma drugs Advair, Serevent and Floradil because of safety concerns.

The Food and Drug Administration says the three drugs, in a small number of patients, have have been associated with severe asthma exacerbations, The New York Times reported Wednesday

Advair and Serevent, are made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Floradil, developed by Novartis, is sold in the United States by Schering Plough.

The drugs are inhaled to prevent an asthma attack, but differ from inhalants used to treat attacks.

Advair and Serevent already display warnings about a study that showed 13 deaths occurring among 13,176 patients taking one of the three drugs, as compared with three deaths among 13,179 who were given placebos.

The FDA advisory committee of 14 asthma experts meeting Wednesday will decide whether the drugs should be withdrawn, relabeled, or left as they are, the Times said.

Asthma affects more than 21 million adults and 8 million children in the United States.

Advair, sold overseas as Seretide, was the third-best-selling drug in the world last year, with sales of more than $4.5 billion, the Times noted.

Source: United Press International

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