Are salbutamol and albuterol the same drug?
Ventolin is the brand name of salbutamol, which is the WHO (World Health Organization) recommended name for the medication. Unfortunately, in the US this same drug is called albuterol, leading to endless confusion. In fact, it’s one of the few drugs in which the brand name stays the same from country to country, while the chemical name changes! Ventolin is made in the U.S. by Allen & Hanburys, and Proventil is the same drug manufactured by Schering. You can also get this drug in a sustained-action tablet, called either Repetabs (by Schering, again) or Volmax (Muro).
