Boston Globe: Cancellation of kids’ asthma med continues to cause turmoil for Mass. families

Massachusetts families are still struggling to find alternatives almost a year after GlaxoSmithKline canceled a widely prescribed children’s asthma medication, a problem given renewed urgency as flu and respiratory virus season sets in.

Flovent HFA, GSK’s brand name for its discontinued inhaler, hasn’t been available since December 2023 when, in response to new federal price limits, the company introduced an essentially identical authorized generic version. The company stated the move was done to keep an important drug available, “potentially at a lower cost.”

But, perversely, the generic is generally more expensive and now fewer insurers are covering the replacement. Meanwhile, alternatives that are appropriate for children are hard to find, families and their doctors say. Moreover, physicians worry that when insurers revamp their lists of covered medications for the coming year, families will have to go through the challenging process of finding an appropriate replacement all over again.

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