Biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca plc (STO:AZN) (LON:AZN) (Nasdaq:AZN) revealed on Tuesday that its Symbicort Turbuhaler (budesonide/formoterol 160/4.5mcg) has been approved in China as an anti-inflammatory reliever to be taken as-needed in response to symptoms to achieve asthma control in patients with mild asthma aged 12 years and older.

Symbicort Turbuhaler is the first dual-combination therapy approved in China as an anti-inflammatory reliever to treat mild asthma. It was already approved in China for patients with moderate to severe asthma as an anti-inflammatory reliever plus maintenance therapy, and as maintenance therapy only.

The latest approval by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) was based on positive results from the SYGMA 1 and SYGMA 2 Phase III trials, which evaluated the efficacy of Symbicort Turbuhaler taken as-needed as an anti-inflammatory reliever compared with standard of care therapies in mild asthma.