FRIDAY, April 1, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Schering-Plough's once-daily asthma inhaler Asmanex (mometasone furoate).
The dry-powder preventive therapy is sanctioned for asthmatics 12 and older who had been treated with oral medications called bronchodilators or inhaled corticosteroids, the company said in a statement.
The active ingredient is the same one used in Schering-Plough's Nasonex, a nasal allergy spray.
In clinical trials involving 400 people, participants who used Asmanex showed improved lung function, less reliance on short-term "rescue" asthma medications, and significant improvement in day and nighttime symptoms such as coughing and wheezing, the company said.
As many as 20 million Americans have asthma, leading to 2 million emergency room visits and more than 5,000 deaths annually, Schering-Plough said.
To learn more about asthma, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Insitute.
