A phase 3 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of a pediatric dose of mometasone furoate with and without formoterol for persistent asthma

Objectives Asthma affects over 6 million children in the United States alone. This study investigated the efficacy and long-term safety of mometasone furoate-formoterol (MF/F) and MF monotherapy in children with asthma. Materials and Methods This phase 3, multicenter, randomized controlled trial evaluated metered-dose inhaler twice daily (BID) dosing with MF/F 100/10 mu g or MF 100 mu g in children, aged 5 to 11 years, with a history of asthma for greater than or equal to 6 months and confirmed bronchodilator reversibility, who were adequately controlled on inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta-agonist combination therapy for greater than or equal to 4 weeks. After a 2-week run-in on MF 100 mu g BID, eligible patients received 24 weeks of double-blind treatment and were followed for safety up to 26 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change from baseline in AM postdose 60-minute AUC %predicted FEV1% across 12 weeks of treatment. Results A total of 181 participants received at least one dose of MF/F (n = 91) or MF (n = 90). MF/F was superior to MF across the 12-week evaluation period, with a treatment advantage of 5.21 percentage points (P < .001). Superior onset of action with MF/F over MF was achieved as early as 5 minutes postdose on day 1. Overall, approximately 50% of participants experienced one or more treatment-emergent adverse events, with fewer occurring in the MF/F group. Conclusions In children 5 to 11 years of age with persistent asthma, the addition of F to MF was well tolerated and provided significant, rapid, and sustained improvement in lung function compared with MF alone.