Features - A smart new approach to asthma management

For the first time, adults aged 18 years and older, suffering from asthma are able to control and relieve their symptoms using a single inhaler. Symbicort? (budesonide/formoterol) Maintenance And Reliever Therapy – known as Symbicort SMART? – is a new approach, which has the potential to help suitable* patients manage their asthma more effectively without the need for multiple inhalers.

Up until now, people with asthma may have taken medication from one or two inhalers every day for prevention and control of their asthma, and another inhaler to relieve symptoms such as cough and wheeze. With Symbicort SMART, many patients can now receive medication to maintain asthma control, and treat symptoms, using just one inhaler.

Symbicort SMART studies demonstrated that patients using this new approach took no extra inhaled steroids and needed less oral steroids compared to other traditional asthma treatment approaches. Over three quarters of asthma sufferers prescribed steroids voice concerns about side effects3, and almost a quarter of these do not take their steroid medication as prescribed. With Symbicort SMART, the aim is to simplify treatment and enable patients to share in the successful management of their asthma, whilst minimising the steroid load and reducing symptoms. Using the SMART approach, studies showed that patients have fewer severe exacerbations (attacks) than other approaches and in doing so use fewer oral steroids.2,4.

Martyn Partridge, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Imperial College, London said, “Complex approaches to asthma treatment can cause confusion, with patients unsure of when to use their different inhalers. In addition, the negative perception of steroids discourages patients to take their asthma medication, as they should. Inhaled steroids are an important part of treatment for the majority of asthma patients, and have helped to save many lives since they were introduced. Symbicort SMART enables patients to receive the appropriate level of treatment that they need, controls steroid intake, and is a welcome option for today’s management of asthma patients”.

* Adults aged 18 years and older uncontrolled on inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and short acting beta agonists.1
Symbicort SMART can also help to ease some of the financial burden of prescription charges for asthma sufferers. With 50% of people with asthma experiencing difficulties paying for their asthma medicines, using one inhaler to both control and relieve asthma symptoms means that patients now only have a single prescription charge to pay.

Poorly controlled asthma places a significant burden on the NHS – caring for people who experience an asthma attack costs the NHS 3.5 times more than caring for those whose asthma is well managed , – resulting in an annual spend of £889 million through hospitalisations and emergency appointments. Such statistics are in direct contrast to the commonly held belief that asthma is a well-controlled condition in modern society. However, according to Asthma UK, 75% of hospitalisations are avoidable.7

Glasgow based General Practitioner Dr John Haughney comments, “Asthma is not regarded by many people as a major health issue. However, for those patients living with the disease every day, the effects can be devastating. The good news is that asthma is a manageable condition, and with an advance such as Symbicort SMART, enabling patients to manage their symptoms with a single inhaler, asthma need not be a barrier to a full and enjoyable life.”

Symbicort SMART is licensed for use in adults aged 18 years and older, who are suitable for combination therapy, especially those with inadequate asthma control and in frequent need of reliever (blue inhaler) medication, as well as in patients who have had asthma attacks requiring medical interventions.1. Symbicort SMART has been studied in clinical trials involving more than 14,000 asthma patients.2, , , , , A recently published study, the largest of its type in asthma, demonstrates that patients taking Symbicort SMART experienced 39% fewer severe asthma attacks compared to another combination asthma treatment SeretideTM (fluticasone/salmeterol) plus a separate reliever (blue) inhaler.9 In addition, Symbicort SMART has been shown to reduce the requirement for oral steroids by 34% compared to Seretide (fluticasone/salmeterol) plus a separate reliever (blue) inhaler.2

Despite effective treatments, 74% of patients still over rely on their reliever (blue) inhaler to manage their symptoms, which does not address the underlying inflammation – one of the key causes of asthma attacks. There can be signs of worsening symptoms for five to 10 days in advance of an asthma attack and patients do not always respond most appropriately, increasing their use of their reliever (blue) inhaler – a warning sign of deterioration of asthma control. With Symbicort SMART, people with asthma can now carry a single inhaler that contains treatment to both control and relieve their symptoms, treating the inflammation with every inhalation and helping them to effectively manage their asthma.

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $26.47 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4 Good Index.

Page Created: 3 May 2008