A Food and Drug Administration panel is going to hold hearings this week to review the safety of a particular group of asthma medications after the agency’s staff recommended the drugs be prohibited for kids 18 and younger, Reuters reported.
The drugs in question are known as long-acting beta agonists (LABAs), and there are concerns that they are linked to “asthma-related deaths and asthma attacks,” the news service said.
The medications that could be affected are Foradil, which is made by Novartis AG and marketed in the United States by Schering-Plough Corp.; Advair and Serevent, which are both made by GlaxoSmithKline; and Symbicort, which is made by AstraZeneca.
Serevent and Foradil shouldn’t be used by people of any age with asthma, FDA staff has said.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, who cited FDA documents, kids ages four to 11 taking LABAs “appeared to be at greatest risk for complications than those taking older treatments.”
Long-acting beta agonists are inhaled along with steroids. LABAs keep constricted airways open for at least 12 hours, according to the Mayo Clinic, and reduce the use of what are known as “rescue medications” that quickly open up airways. LABAs are useful at night, and people who took them reported waking up less, and having a better quality of life than those who only took steroids for asthma, the clinic said.
The drugs in question are known as long-acting beta agonists (LABAs), and there are concerns that they are linked to “asthma-related deaths and asthma attacks,” the news service said.
The medications that could be affected are Foradil, which is made by Novartis AG and marketed in the United States by Schering-Plough Corp.; Advair and Serevent, which are both made by GlaxoSmithKline; and Symbicort, which is made by AstraZeneca.
Serevent and Foradil shouldn’t be used by people of any age with asthma, FDA staff has said.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, who cited FDA documents, kids ages four to 11 taking LABAs “appeared to be at greatest risk for complications than those taking older treatments.”
Long-acting beta agonists are inhaled along with steroids. LABAs keep constricted airways open for at least 12 hours, according to the Mayo Clinic, and reduce the use of what are known as “rescue medications” that quickly open up airways. LABAs are useful at night, and people who took them reported waking up less, and having a better quality of life than those who only took steroids for asthma, the clinic said.
