Budesonide/formoterol is now indicated for asthma of any severity, the TGA has announced, in the latest sign that as-needed reliever-preventer therapy could usurp the role of short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs).

Earlier this year, an international study suggested that adults with mild asthma who used the combined ICS-LABA inhaler as needed had fewer severe exacerbations than those on either salbutamol alone or those prescribed daily budesonide plus salbutamol as needed.

That finding spurred calls for budesonide/formoterol to be considered a first-line treatment for mild asthma, in order to address overreliance on SABAs and the adherence issues associated with daily maintenance therapy prescribed to patients who only experienced intermittent symptoms.

In April, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) recommended that patients with mild asthma be moved to a symptom-driven combined reliever-preventer option, such as budesonide/formoterol.