AstraZeneca PLC, Merck & Co., Inc. Asthma Pills as Good as Inhaler in Study
Rarely prescribed asthma pills made by drugmakers such as AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Merck (MRK.N) are easier to use and just as effective as conventional inhaler treatments, according to research by British scientists.
In a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers tracked 650 patients with chronic asthma for two years and found the tablets, called leukotriene receptor antagonists or LTRAs, managed the disease as well as steroid inhalers.