Steroid and Anti-Histamine All-In-One Nasal Spray!

Meda Pharmaceuticals has announced a new nasal spray "Dymista" that contains both a steroid and an anti-histamine active ingredient. Why is this significant? It's because it's the first and only one to do so. Of course, it's not available yet until the FDA approves it, but at least it has shown effectiveness in Phase 3 clinical trials.

At this time, nasal sprays as it relates to nasal allergies come in two separate flavors:

1) Steroid Nasal Spray (flonase, nasonex, nasacort, rhinocort, veramyst, omnaris, etc, etc)
2) Anti-Histamine Nasal Spray (patanase, astepro, astelin)

This new combo nasal spray "Dymista" contains fluticasone and azelastine. Fluticasone is a steroid that is also found in flonase nasal spray whereas azelastine is an anti-histamine also found in astepro and astelin nasal sprays.

Clinical trials in the past have shown that using a steroid nasal spray and an anti-histamine nasal spray was more effective than using one or the other individually.

Similarly, Dymista has also been found to be better than either nasal spray alone, but with the convenience of using a single nasal spray.

Look for it in the near future! Let's just hope insurance will cover it however.

Read the press release here.

Reference:
Onset of Action of MP29-02 in the Treatment of Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2011; 127; 2; Abstracts 199

MP29-02 in the Treatment of Nasal Symptoms of Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2011; 127; 2; Abstracts 199

Combination therapy with azelastine hydrochloride nasal spray and fluticasone propionate nasal spray in the treatment of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 2008, vol. 100, no. 1, pp. 74 - 81.