FDA Approves Advair Diskus for treatment of COPD
By HME News Staff
Updated Sun November 30, 2003
December 1, 2003
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Advair Diskus 250/50 as a new treatment for a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Advair differs from other available COPD treatments in that it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator to help control COPD symptoms. Previously, the only FDA-approved medications for the treatment of COPD have been bronchodilators.
The two medicines in Advair work in conjunction to improve lung function and manage COPD symptoms, which include inflammation, bronchoconstriction and structural changes in the airways that restrict airflow into and out of the lungs.
The two medications are combined in one breath-activated inhaler called the Diskus, which contains a built-in dose counter. Advair patients will need to take just one inhalation twice a day, whereas some other treatments can require up to three inhalations four times a day.
"The approval of Advair Diskus 250/50 for this condition is important news for patients and physicians," said Dr. William Bailey, a professor of medicine and director of the Lung Health Center at the University of Alabama- Birmingham. "There is growing recognition that COPD is a complex disease with multiple components."
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