Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, a leading global pharmaceutical company, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ProAir RespiClick (albuterol sulfate) inhalation powder for the treatment or prevention of bronchospasm in children 4 to 11 years of age with reversible obstructive airway disease and for the prevention of exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB).

ProAir RespiClick was approved by the FDA for use in patients 12 years of age and older in March 2015 and remains the only breath-activated, multi-dose, dry powder, short-acting beta-agonist (SABA) inhaler available in the US.

“The prevalence of childhood asthma in the US is high, at more than six million patients, and that number continues to rise,” said Dr. Erwin Gelfand, chairman, Department of Pediatrics at National Jewish Health. “For this young population of asthma patients, learning to use inhalers properly can be quite challenging. Thus, the paediatric indication for ProAir RespiClick is important as it represents a new rescue inhaler option for younger patients that eliminates the need for hand-breath coordination during inhalation and was designed to be used without a spacer.”

The paediatric approval of ProAir RespiClick comes after the FDA’s review of data from Teva’s phase III clinical trial programme that evaluated the safety and efficacy of the treatment in patients as young as four years of age, living with asthma. The data demonstrated that treatment with ProAir RespiClick resulted in significantly greater improvement in forced expiratory volume (FEV1) compared to placebo. The most common adverse events associated with treatment with ProAir RespiClick included upper respiratory infections, mouth and throat pain and vomiting.

“We are very pleased with the FDA’s decision to expand the indication of ProAir RespiClick for the treatment of patients as young as four years of age,” said Tushar Shah, MD, senior vice president, Teva Global Respiratory Research and Development. “The availability of this treatment option for younger patients is a demonstration of Teva’s commitment to optimizing respiratory therapies through the development of new delivery systems that help address needs in the marketplace.”