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| |  New Indication for Aerobid Revolutionizes Chronic Asthma Treatment NEW YORK, May 16, 1996 -- Forest Laboratories announced today that it has adopted new labeling for its inhaled corticosteroid medication AEROBID (flunisolide) at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Previously, AEROBID was only indicated for patients whose asthma was uncontrolled by bronchodilators alone. The new indication now broadens the use of AEROBID as maintenance treatment and prophylactic therapy to actually prevent asthma symptoms. According to Dr. Michael Kaliner, Immediate Past President of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the indication change could not have come soon enough. "We've been very frustrated with some physicians who, despite all of the literature and education, do not prescribe inhaled steroids as aggressively as they should for moderate and severe asthma. I hope this new indication will encourage primary care doctors to use inhaled steroids, not just for chronic asthmatics, but to prevent asthma symptoms among all of their asthma patients." Asthma is characterized as an inflammatory disease which can lead to acute, bronchial constriction. The acute attack is most often treated with the use of bronchodilators like Proventil(R), Ventolin(R) or Primatene Mist(R), to quickly open the airways and provide immediate relief. Now, the maintenance indication allows for the prophylactic use of AEROBID to reduce the underlying inflammation, thereby, reducing the probability of acute attacks. "We are elated with this FDA label change for inhaled steroids," said Mary Worstell, MPH, Executive Director of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). "Now patients can initiate, early in their treatment, a preventative therapy proven effective in reducing the underlying inflammation of asthma in the bronchial tubes." According to Lawrence Olanoff, MD, PhD, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Forest Laboratories, "by helping to prevent asthma symptoms before they start, asthmatics may be better able to live an active and healthy lifestyle which includes exercising and sleeping better at night. In addition, the soaring socioeconomic costs due to asthma may reduced by limiting the number of missed school and work days associated with asthma." Approximately 13 million people in the U.S. suffer from asthma and it is now the most common chronic disease of adults and children in the industrialized world. "There's been a concerted effort in this country to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with asthma," said Dr. Kaliner. "Clearly, effective treatments are an essential element and there is no doubt that the new indication for inhaled steroid therapy will improve patient outcomes."
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