AZ Symbicort reduces rate of asthma attacks

AstraZeneca’s Novel START trial for its Symbicort Turbuhaler (budesonide/formoterol) demonstrated a reduction in the rate of asthma attacks in patients with mild asthma, compared to common therapies. The trial results, published in the ‘New England Journal of Medicine’, compared Symbicort Turbuhaler with two commonly used treatment regimens in mild asthma and reflected real-world practice. In real-world practice, patients typically use a short-acting beta2-agonist (SABA) reliever in response to symptoms or daily low-dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) maintenance therapy with a SABA reliever.  In this trial, patients with mild asthma were randomised to receive either albuterol (a SABA reliever) taken as-needed, or budesonide (an ICS maintenance treatment) plus albuterol as-needed, or Symbicort Turbuhaler used as an anti-inflammatory reliever therapy taken as-needed.