20 Deaths of Asthma Drug Users Reported

Asthma sufferers have been dying since a new drug hit the market in April, some apparently because they mistakenly believed that the long-lasting drug would immediately relieve their breathing problems.

Twenty deaths have been reported to the Food and Drug Administration among users of Serevent. It is not yet clear how many are linked to misuse of the drug, but manufacturer Glaxo Inc. is warning patients and doctors to use it properly.

Serevent is very effective at preventing asthma attacks and its effects last longer than other drugs, experts agree. But it doesn’t treat actual asthma attacks--because it takes at least 30 minutes to begin working.

“It’s very, very important that people understand Serevent is not for acute asthma,” Ramona Jones of manufacturer Glaxo Inc. said Wednesday. Instead, she said, “it’s so important for people to have that short-acting bronchodilator in case they get in trouble.”

Glaxo last week began meeting with the FDA about strengthening Serevent’s patient warning label.

The FDA emphasizes that it can’t yet prove a connection with the 20 deaths, because asthma by itself can be deadly. But improper Serevent use is suspected because many of the reports list asthma or “no drug effect” as the probable cause.

Serevent has proved safe in trials by hundreds of people, so patients should not abandon it, the FDA said. But it doesn’t fight asthma attacks because it takes 30 to 45 minutes to work. Patients may overdose as they frantically try to make Serevent stop an attack--and overdosing can cause abnormal heart rhythms and other dangers.