ALTANA LAUNCHES ALVESCO ASTHMA DRUG IN UNITED KINGDOM

German drugmaker Altana AG has launched its Alvesco treatment, indicated for adult persistent asthma, in the UK. The country, which was the Reference Member State for the European Union's mutual recognition procedure, approved the product in April. Altana's marketing partners, French drug major Sanofi-Aventis and Japan's Teijin, have already filed applications with authorities in the US and Japan. Meanwhile, Alvesco has also received approval in Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Colombia.

Alvesco is described as an inhaled corticosteroid pulmonary anti-inflammatory with novel release properties. The drug is to be available to all but extreme sufferers, in once daily doses of 160 mcg or 80 mcg. The product is expected to become a highly lucrative product line for Altana, which claims to have a number of alternative delivery formats and variants of the compound in clinical trials.