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Astra suffers asthma drug setback in US
Lucy Tobin6 Apr 2009
Britain's second-largest drugs firm, AstraZeneca, was today hit by delays in its bid to boost sales of its asthma drug Symbicort in the US.
The pharma giant, which already sells Symbicort for use by children aged 12 and over in the US, applied to regulatory body the Food and Drug Administration for the medicine to be used by younger children.
The drug is a rival to GlaxoSmithKline's market-leading asthma drug Advair.But the US watchdog said that AstraZeneca had not provided enough evidence on Symbicort's appropriate dosage, and asked for more information.
Swedish competition officials, meanwhile, have approved the sale of a range of Astra's over-the-counter drugs to Glaxo, which paid $220 million (£147 million) for the rights. AstraZeneca shares fell 20p to 2362p.
