Benralizumab Cuts Exacerbation Rate in Severe Asthma
Benralizumab treatment is associated with a lower exacerbation frequency compared with placebo in patients with patients with severe, uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma, regardless of the season, according to a recent post-hoc analysis of the SIROCCO and CALIMA trials.
For their analysis, the researchers assessed 1204 patients enrolled in the SIROCCO trial and 1091 patients enrolled in the CALIMA trial. All patients included in the trial had been receiving high-dosage inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting β2-agonists (ICS/LABA).
______________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
Does Once-Daily Asthma Treatment Improve Adherence?
Could Quintupling Dose of Asthma Meds Reduce Exacerbations in Children?
______________________________________________________________________________
Patients were treated with either 30 mg subcutaneous benralizumab every 4 weeks or every 8 weeks, or placebo.
Findings showed that placebo-treated patients tended to experience greater rates of exacerbations during fall (1.52) and winter (1.44) compared with spring (1.11) and summer (1.02).
However, in patients who were treated with benralizumab for 8 weeks, annual percentage exacerbation rate reductions were calculated as 50% for spring, 45% for summer, 46% for fall, and 40% for winter, compared with placebo. The researchers observed similar trends among patients who were treated with benralizumab for 4 weeks.
“Benralizumab treatment significantly reduced the frequency of exacerbations compared with placebo in patients with severe, uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma, and this reduction was consistent, with a [40% to 50%] reduction irrespective of the season,” the researchers concluded.
—Christina Vogt
Reference:
DuBuske L, Newbold P, Wu Y, Trudo F, Gopalan G. Seasonal variability of exacerbations in patients with severe, uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma and clinical benefits of benralizumab: pooled analysis of the SIROCCO and CALIMA trials. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018;141(2):AB12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2017.12.039.