Altana asthma drug comparable to rivals

The data was presented during the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s (AAAAI) 61st annual meeting and came from two studies comparing Alvesco (ciclesonide) to fluticasone propionate (GlaxoSmithKline’s Flonase) and budesonide (the active ingredient in AstraZeneca’s Pulmicort and Rhinocort products).

In the fluticasone study, Alvesco was compared with fluticasone propionate,with patients receiving one inhalation of Alvesco 80mcg or Alvesco 160mcg in the evening, or inhalations of fluticasone propionate 88mcg in both the morning and evening. Both once-daily Alvesco treatments were as effective as fluticasone 88mcg twice-daily in improving FEV, a measure of pulmonary function and the primary measure for assessing efficacy in the trial.

In addition, both treatments resulted in comparable improvements in asthma symptoms and use of rescue medication and the incidence of adverse events was comparable in all treatment groups.

In the budesonide study, patients with persistent asthma, who were receiving 400 to 500mcg/day of the inhaled corticosteroid beclomethasone dipropionate or equivalent doses from other products, were switched to budesonide 200mcg twice-daily for two to 2.5 weeks. Following the baseline treatment, patients were randomized to receive either budesonide (200ug twice-daily) or once-daily inhalation of Alvesco (160mcg) for 12 weeks.

Results from this trial were less impressive as all treatments maintained their lung function at the end of the baseline period, with no significant change from baseline in FEV1 for any of the treatment groups. Furthermore, patients had asthma symptom- and rescue medication-free days on 91% of the days with Alvesco, compared to 93% of the days with budesonide.