One of the most widely used brands of asthma inhalers will be going off the market in the new year.
Starting Jan. 1st, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will discontinue manufacturing branded Flovent HFA and Flovent Diskus inhalers and replace them with "authorized generic" versions.
Flovent HFA is a popular inhaler for children with asthma, one of the most common chronic diseases among children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
"This medication has been the most commonly used inhaled medication for the past 25 or 30 years," Dr. Robyn Cohen, a pediatric pulmonologist at Boston Medical Center, told CNN. "It's the one that, overwhelmingly, pediatricians reach for when they decide that their patient needs a daily preventive medication. … The fact that it's being discontinued is going to be a huge shock to the system for patients, for families and for doctors."
While the new inhalers are identical other than branding -- they contain the same medicine, in the same familiar device, and with the same instructions for use -- they could require a new prescription and might not be covered by all insurance plans. Each insurer is handling discontinuation of Flovent in its own way.
"Some insurers are not covering the generic and others don't consider it a preferred treatment, which can lead to higher copays and the need for prior authorizations that delay access," AAP said in a statement.
Doctors say the switch could put patients with asthma at risk during the worst time of year.
"Patients are going to need to get a brand new prescription for a completely different medication in the middle of the worst possible time of year, which is the winter respiratory virus season," Cohen told CNN. "Flu, COVID, RSV — all these circulating viruses that are going around right now — are one of the biggest, if not the biggest, triggers for asthma attacks in kids."
The reason for the change is a new policy that eliminates the Medicaid rebate cap, prompting pharmaceutical companies to replace branded medications with authorized generics.
In a November 2023 statement to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, GSK said, "The transition from branded to authorized generics will not have an impact on our ability to supply the market and we expect minimal disruption for patients."
"The authorized generic [of Flovent] may potentially be a lower cost alternative to patients, depending on their insurance coverage and benefit design," the manufacturer added.
Patients who use Flovent HFA or Flovent Diskus for treatment should refill their prescriptions before the end of the year, verify prescription coverage with their insurance and talk to their doctor about other asthma medicines.