AstraZeneca: Asthma Treatment Gets Approval in Japan

AstraZeneca has announced that Symbicort Turbuhaler (budesonide/formoterol) has been approved by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). This is for the maintenance treatment of bronchial asthma in patients aged 16 and over when a combination therapy of an inhaled steroid and a long-acting beta-2 agonist is necessary.

The product will be manufactured and developed by AstraZeneca and distributed and sold by Astellas Pharma, while promotion will be jointly carried out by both companies.

"The approval of Symbicort Turbuhaler in Japan will provide patients and physicians with a new treatment option for the approximately five million adults living with asthma in Japan," said Bruno Angelici, Executive VP for International Sales and Marketing, AstraZeneca.