The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7377 p654
26 November 2005

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Salmeterol/formoterol reminder from MHRA

Prescribers have been reminded that patients treated with salmeterol (Serevent) or formoterol (Oxis, Foradil) should always be prescribed an inhaled corticosteroid.

The reminder, from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, comes as the US Food and Drug Administration called for strengthened warnings for the products and follows an analysis of trial data. The data, from the salmeterol multi-centre asthma research trial (SMART), revealed that patients who did not use inhaled corticosteroids with salmeterol had a higher incidence of asthma-related adverse events than patients who did use inhaled corticosteroids.

The MHRA also reminds prescribers that patients should be monitored during the first three months of salmeterol or formoterol treatment and those with acutely deteriorating asthma should not be started on these drugs.