Even with the best of biologic drugs Asthma cannot be cured but with appropriate monitoring and management, it can be controlled.
New hope for people with severe asthma as trial finds new drug reduces attacks by more than half
The drug, known as Tezepelumab, is given as an injection and has been developed by AstraZeneca
February 26, 2021 7:12 pm
Updated February 26, 2021 7:12 pm
People with severe asthma have been given hope of a highly effective new treatment after a major trial of a new drug found it reduced asthma attacks by 56 per cent.
This was the final stage of the trial process which has been going on for years, raising hopes that it could soon gain regulatory clearance and become available in clinical practice.
The drug, known as Tezepelumab, is given as an injection and has been developed by AstraZeneca.
The results of the trial were presented at the American Academy of Asthma Allergy & Immunology Virtual Annual Meeting.
“Tezepelumab has the potential to transform treatment for a broad population of patients with severe asthma regardless of their type of inflammation,” said Professor Andrew Menzies-Gow, of the Royal Brompton Hospital in London and principal investigator of the trial.
“These are ground-breaking results for the many patients with severe asthma who continue to face debilitating symptoms despite receiving standard of care inhaled medicines and currently approved biologics,” he said.
A biological medicine, or biologic, is a type of treatment made from proteins and other substances produced by the body. It’s a liquid that’s given through a drip or injection pen.
Mene Pangalos, of AstraZeneca, said: “The unprecedented results from the trial show tezepelumab is the first and only asthma biologic to demonstrate in randomised trials clinically meaningful exacerbation reductions, irrespective of blood eosinophil counts, allergy status and fractional exhaled nitric oxide.
“There is now a strong body of evidence showing the benefit of targeting the top of the inflammatory cascade with tezepelumab, and we look forward to bringing this potential first-in-class medicine to a broad population of severe asthma patients as soon as possible,” he said.
Every 10 seconds someone has a potentially life-threatening asthma attack.
Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Innovation at Asthma UK, said: “It is really promising to see that this new drug, Tezepelumab, has been able to reduce asthma attacks and improve quality of life in people with severe asthma.”
“An estimated 200,000 people in the UK have severe asthma, which means they don’t respond to normal treatments and can live in constant fear of their next asthma attack.
“Many are caught in a vicious cycle of taking strong oral steroid tablets to control their symptoms, suffering from the devastating side effects such as insomnia, mental health issues and osteoporosis and can find themselves constantly in and out of hospital.
“Biologic drugs can be the key to helping people with severe asthma lead a normal life but only around 60,000 people are eligible for the currently approved biologics. This new treatment, which appears to be effective in a broader population of people with severe asthma than the current treatment options may help to tackle the huge unmet need that we currently have.”
Dr Walker is encourage adults with uncontrolled asthma to use the charity’s new interactive tool to find out if they should be referred and assessed for treatment with current biologics
