A bid to the drugs watchdog to make an inhaled corticosteroid available OTC will not stop patients with asthma overusing salbutamol and could result in a two-tier system in rural areas, the RACGP warns. 

The TGA will weigh up whether to make budesonide available without a script for patients with asthma aged 12 or older at a meeting in two weeks’ time.

The unnamed applicant argues that downscheduling the drug will stop “patient reliance on short-acting beta2-agonists, [such as] salbutamol, which are currently widely used due to the rapid symptom relief they provide”. 

The application, which was published at the end of April, says the drug carries low risk of misuse and making it available OTC will improve access in regional areas.