FDA approves first generic of Symbicort to treat asthma and COPD
The US Food and and Drug Agency (FDA) approved the first generic of Symbicort (budesonide and formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol used to treat asthma and COPD in patients six years and older. The agency said that the product, a metered-dose inhaler, should not be used to treat acute asthma attacks, as it contains both budesonide (a corticosteroid that reduces inflammation) and formoterol (a long-acting bronchodilator that relaxes muscles in the airways to improve breathing). At the same time, the agency also stressed on the side effects of the oral inhalation aerosol for those with asthma are nasopharyngitis, which includes headache, upper respiratory tract infection, pharyngolaryngeal (nose and mouth) pain and nasopharyngitis, oral candidiasis, bronchitis, sinusitis, and upper respiratory tract infection for those with COPD.