From RICHARD SYKES
Your report ‘Asthma drug launch backfires amid safety doubts’ (This
Week, 15 December) is inaccurate and sensational and, as a result, may unnecessarily
alarm patients receiving Serevent (salmeterol).
There is no evidence that the launch of Serevent has been ‘torpedoed’
by any ‘research’ or by opinions published in an editorial in The Lancet
of 8 December. On the contrary, Serevent is being rapidly taken up by physicians
and their patients.
The two papers published in the same edition of The Lancet, and which
presumably constitute the ‘research’ your correspondent refers to, are specifically
about fenoterol, a beta-2 agonist not marketed by Glaxo. They do not relate
directly to salmeterol.
Fenoterol has been previously suggested to differ from other beta-2
agonists but The Lancet and your own article extrapolated findings to all
compounds in the class without valid grounds.
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There are now more extensive published data showing that regular long-term
salmeterol therapy results in improved control of asthma which is better
than intermittent treatment with a short-acting beta-2 agonist.
In summary, we believe that the results of studies with fenoterol bear
no relevance to data generated with either Glaxo’s salmeterol (Serevent)
or salbutamol (Ventolin). Long-term studies of treatment with both inhaled
compounds have shown improved lung function and better control of asthma.
Richard Sykes, Chairman & Chief Executive Glaxo Group Reasearch
London
Our report made clear that the beta-2 agonist used in The Lancet study
was not salmeterol. However, the authors of the study themselves pointed
out that their results had implications for long-acting beta-2 agonists
such as salmeterol. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to speak directly
with Glaxo’s scientists during the preparation of our article. Ed
