Schering-Plough, Novartis expand an asthma pact

Schering-Plough and Novartis have extended their collaboration on combination therapies for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The firms will combine mometasone, the corticosteroid active ingredient in Schering-Plough's Asmanex, and indacaterol, a β2-agonist being developed by Novartis, into a once-daily inhalation therapy. The companies will share development costs and copromote a combination therapy worldwide. The two currently have another combination therapy for asthma and COPD, composed of Asmanex and Novartis' Foradil, in Phase III clinical trials.