UK inquiry into asthma drug prescribing over safe use

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is launching an investigation into the use of a common class of asthma drugs, after recent studies have shown that they may increase death rates, especially when incorrectly prescribed.

The decision has come after the European Union's Committee on Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) notified the UK regulator of concerns about the number of UK patients that use long-acting beta agonists without having a co-prescription for an inhaled steroid. An estimated 1,500 people with asthma die in the UK each year. Pulse, a leading newspaper for UK general physicians, published figures compiled privately that show almost 40% of patients who use Labas are not prescribed with the inhaled steroid.

The MHRA says that it will reinforce guidance to doctors about the safe use of Labas. When contacted by the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper, a spokesman for the agency said that prescribing practice was under constant review and had improved since 2003.