New asthma treatment guidelines could be good news for drug companies. The government advises better day-to-day control of the disease--and that probably means more widespread use of inhaled corticosteroid drugs such as Flovent (GlaxoSmithKline [1]), Azmacort (Sanofi-Aventis [2]), and Pulmicort (AstraZeneca [3]).
For patients with severe asthma, the National Institutes of Health report also recommends Omalizumab, a Genentech/Novartis drug sold under the brand name Xolair, which targets antibodies that can cause asthma symptoms.
- see the new NIH guidelines [4]
- read the Washington Post's take [5]
- and check out this piece [6] on AstraZeneca's asthma drugs
Related Articles:
Scientists find link between colds and asthma attacks. Report [7]
FDA rejects GSK's Advair for COPD. Report [8]
NIH budget cuts cause alarm in research circles. Report [9]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/glaxosmithkline
[2] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/sanofi-aventis
[3] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/astrazeneca-cuts-7-600-jobs/2007-07-26
[4] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/nih-national-asthma-guidelines-updated
[5] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901101.html?hpid=sec-health
[6] http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070830/BUSINESS/708300325/1003
[7] http://www.fiercebioresearcher.com/story/scientists-find-link-between-colds-and-asthma-attacks/2006-08-17
[8] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/fda-rejects-gsks-advair-copd/2007-08-09
[9] http://www.fiercebioresearcher.com/story/nih-budget-cuts-cause-alarm-in-research-circles/2007-03-20