ASTRAZENECA'S NEW ASTHMA TREATMENT GETS FDA APPROVAL

The FDA has approved AstraZeneca's Symbicort for the treatment of asthma in patients ages 12 and older.

Symbicort, a twice-daily asthma therapy that combines budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid, and formoterol, a rapid and long-acting beta2-agonist, will be available in U.S. markets in a pressurized metered dose inhaler by mid-2007, the company said.

The combination therapy of adding long-acting inhaled beta-agonists to inhaled corticosteroids is recommended by the NIH for long-term prevention and control of moderate and severe asthma.