The emergence of new biologics for severe asthma.

Abstract

Patients with severe asthma experience severe symptoms and frequent exacerbations despite intensive treatment with inhaled and oral glucocorticoids. Biologics for severe asthma aim to reduce asthma-related and glucocorticoid-induced morbidity. Recently, new biologics targeting interleukin (IL)-5, IL-5 receptor and IL-4/IL-13, which are all cytokines involved in so-called type 2 airway inflammation, were approved for severe asthma. They show a reduction in exacerbation rate and an oral glucocorticoid-sparing effect. Studies with upstream biologics targeting alarmin cytokines such as thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and IL-33 are underway, and newly designed bispecific antibodies targeting more than one pathway are in early phases of development. Such pathway-targeted add-on treatments will soon become standard of care for all patients with severe asthma.

• Authors: Katrien Ab Eger, Elisabeth H Bel
• Journal: Current opinion in pharmacology (Curr Opin Pharmacol) Vol. 46 Pg. 108-115 (06 2019) ISSN: 1471-4973 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 31229937 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Chemical References

• Biological Products

Topics

• Asthma (drug therapy, immunology, physiopathology)
• Biological Products (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Inflammation (drug therapy, immunology, physiopathology)