US LAUNCH FOR GLAXO'S SEREVENT

Glaxo has launched its long-acting bronchodilator product Serevent (salmeterol xinafoate) in the USA. The drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in February (Marketletter February 14), and will be marketed in the USA by its Allen & Hanburys division. The drug is now approved for marketing in over 50 countries worldwide.

Serevent is indicated for long-term, twice-daily use in the maintenance treatment of asthma and prevention of bronchospasm in patients aged 12 years and older with reversible obstructive airways disease. The drug is also indicated for the prevention of exercise-induced bronchospasm in the same patient population.

Serevent is starting to overcome earlier concerns about the long-term safety of bronchodilator therapy in asthma. Sales in the twelve months to September 1993 were $120 million, a rise of almost 60% on the previous year, and analysts have predicted that 1994 sales could reach around $200 million.