Schering Plough, a global healthcare company recently announced their latest fixed dose combination for the treatment of asthma patients 12 years of age and above. The combination of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate is expected to bring in more sales for the company. Products containing a combination of inhaled corticosteroid and long acting beta-2 agonists (LABs) are the biggest segment in the market.

Mometasone furoate is an inhaled corticosteroid for the maintenance treatment of asthma. It is not recommended for children below 4 years old. On the other hand, formoterol fumarate is a beta-2 agonist, also used for maintenance treatment of asthma patients 5 years and up. Both drugs are not recommended as rescue inhalers, therefore, they are not recommended for use in acute symptoms of asthma.

The company filed a new drug application in the United States Food and Drug Administration for this particular combination. It has been accepted for review and they are hoping that it would be approved for use and distribution in the market. The company owns exclusive rights for manufacturing and distribution of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate. This combination comes in a single metered-dose inhaler.

From Medical News Today:

“We are pleased to announce the U.S. filing of the fixed-dose combination of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate,” said Thomas P. Koestler, Ph. D., executive vice president and president, Schering-Plough Research Institute. “If approved by the FDA, the mometasone fuorate/formoterol combination would represent an important additional treatment option for physicians and their patients and further strengthen Schering-Plough’s portfolio of respiratory products.”

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