Prescribing Advice for GPs

New CFC-Free Beclometasone

August 9, 2006 on 10:48 am | In Prescribing Extra - Drugs |  Print |

A new CFC-free beclometasone inhaler has been launched in the UK. Clenil Modulite^® has been accepted for use on the NHS in Scotland by the Scottish Medicines Consortium.

This new product is licensed for mild, moderate and severe asthma in adult and children but there are some key differences between this product and existing beclometasone inhalers including the CFC-free beclometasone inhaler, Qvar^®.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have cascaded a press release that highlights some of the differences.

• Clenil Modulite^® inhalers are equipotent to the existing CFC-containing inhalers and therefore require no dose adjustment
• Qvar^® inhalers are not equipotent to existing CFC-containing inhalers; doses are usually halved. Further information is available in the Summary of Product Characteristics or the BNF
• Clenil Modulite^® is licensed for use in children. Qvar^® is not licensed for use in children aged 12 and younger

The MHRA recommend that, to avoid confusion for the patient and during dispensing, prescriptions for CFC-free beclometasone products are written for branded products. They also recommend that pharmacists establish which product is required when prescriptions are generic; this information may come from existing patient medication records, the patient or the prescriber.

Action: Care should be taken when prescribing and dispensing prescriptions for beclometasone inhalers to ensure the intended product is provided.