Scientists recently presented the European Respiratory Society International Congress with positive results from their pivotal Phase III trials for severe asthma.
The treatment is benralizumab, which is the first biologic respiratory medicine from AstraZeneca. The treatment has met all of the key secondary as well as primary endpoints that are needed for trials on asthma.
The results suggest that including benralizumab to standard-of-care medicine can significantly decrease exacerbations. This can also improve the functioning of the lungs and symptoms of severe asthma, particularly in patients who have eosinophilic phenotypes (meaning eosinophils are in their blood). The study results showed a 51 percent decrease in asthma exacerbations.
“Severe asthma affects the lives of millions of patients around the world and can be life threatening,” Chief Medical Officer Sean Bohen said. “The SIROCCO and CALIMA Phase III trials have shown that benralizumab can offer a meaningful treatment option for patients as evidenced by reductions in exacerbations, improvement in lung function and symptoms, with the promise of fewer doses a year. Benralizumab has a unique way of working in patients with severe asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype and reflects AstraZeneca’s progress in bringing the next generation of respiratory medicines to patients.”
