Singulair vs Flovent
A tablet against an inhaled steroid in asthma: convenience against the more effective control of airway inflammation.
At a glance
Key differences
- Different classes. Singulair is a leukotriene receptor antagonist; Flovent is an inhaled corticosteroid. They act on different targets in the body.
- Time on the market. Singulair was first approved by the FDA in 1998, Flovent in 1996. That gives Flovent roughly 2 more years of real-world use and long-term safety data.
- Who markets them. Singulair is marketed by Organon; Flovent by GlaxoSmithKline.
- Same drug, more than one brand. Fluticasone Propionate is sold as Flovent / Flixotide — the same active ingredient marketed under different brand names, typically for different approved uses or doses.
What each one treats
SINGULAIR is a leukotriene receptor antagonist indicated for: Prophylaxis and chronic treatment of asthma in patients 12 months of age and older ( 1.1 ). Acute prevention of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in patients 6 years of age and older ( 1.2 ). Relief of symptoms of allergic rhinitis (AR): seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) in patients 2 years of age and older, and perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) in patients 6 months of age and older. Reserve use for patients who have an inadequate response or intolerance to alternative therapies ( 1.3 ). Limitations of Use: Not indicated to treat an acute asthma attack ( 5.2 ). 1.1 Asthma SINGULAIR ® is indicated for the prophylaxis and chronic treatment of asthma in adults and pediatric patients 12 months of age and older. 1.2 Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction (EIB) SINGULAIR is indicated for prevention of exercise-induced broncho…
An inhaled controller medication used daily to prevent asthma attacks.
How each one works
12.1 Mechanism of Action The cysteinyl leukotrienes (LTC 4 , LTD 4 , LTE 4 ) are products of arachidonic acid metabolism and are released from various cells, including mast cells and eosinophils. These eicosanoids bind to cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) receptors. The CysLT type-1 (CysLT 1 ) receptor is found in the human airway (including airway smooth muscle cells and airway macrophages) and on other pro-inflammatory cells (including eosinophils and certain myeloid stem cells). CysLTs have been correlated with the pathophysiology of asthma and allergic rhinitis. In asthma, leukotriene-mediated effects include airway edema, smooth muscle contraction, and altered cellular activity associated …
An inhaled controller medication used daily to prevent asthma attacks.
Related comparisons
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Which medicine is right for a given person depends on their diagnosis, other conditions, other medicines, kidney and liver function, pregnancy, and cost or reimbursement — none of which this page knows. Two drugs in the same class are not automatically interchangeable. Never start, stop or switch a prescription medicine on the basis of a web page; that decision belongs to you and your clinician or pharmacist.
How this page is built
The facts on this page are pulled directly from official U.S. FDA datasets — they are not written from memory. Each field below names the dataset it came from, so you can check it yourself.
- FDA Drug Label (openFDA) ↗ Indications, mechanism of action and pharmacologic class
- Drugs@FDA ↗ First FDA approval date and the company holding the application
- FDA Drug Shortage Database ↗ Current US supply / shortage status
Plain-English summaries and drug-class explainers are written and reviewed by Sreepriya Prasannan (MSc Digital Transformation of Life Sciences (Innopharma Education / Griffith College); MSc & BSc Botany). Data is retrieved automatically from the sources above and cross-checked with AI-assisted verification (Anthropic's Claude) — brand and generic names are matched against the exact FDA product record so that a combination product or a different formulation cannot be mistaken for the drug on this page. An editor reviews the result before publication. We describe this in full in our editorial standards and corrections policy. The FDA data on this page was last retrieved on 6 Oct 2026. How every register is built: methodology · fixes we have made: corrections log.