Drugs

Dupilumab for Asthma

May 25, 2022 /

The current treatment of asthma mainly includes the use of glucocorticoids and beta-agonists. However, these treatments have poor controllability for moderate-to-severe asthma and it also produces several side effects in their long-term use. These limitations had led to the development of dupilumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody, that inhibits IL-4 and IL-13 (receptors), which causes inflammatory diseases like eczema and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. It has a potential role in the treatment of moderate-to-severe asthma and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on October 19, 2018

Let’s look at some studies on how dupilumab can be an effective treatment for asthma:

1. Extensive clinical trials have been conducted globally to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of dupilumab in patients with asthma. At present, 5 clinical trial studies have shown that dupilumab has a significant role in the treatment of moderate-to-severe asthma.

To summarise these 5 clinical trial studies, dupilumab reduced oral glucocorticoid and reduced decreasing the rate of severe exacerbations (while also increasing FEV1). It showed improvements in lung function and asthma.

2. The FDA approved dupilumab to be used in children ( aged 6 to 11 years) to treat moderate to severe asthma based on data from a Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that evaluated the safety of Dupixent combined with the standard asthma therapy in children with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma. More than 90% of children in the trial had at least one type 2 inflammatory condition.

The patients who added dupilumab ((100 mg or 200 mg every two weeks) reduced the rate of severe asthma attacks (with a 65% average reduction over one year compared to placebo) and improved lung function (as early as 2 weeks sustained for up to 52 weeks).

The most common adverse events that were more commonly observed with Dupixent were injection site reactions, viral upper respiratory tract infections, and eosinophilia.

Overall, dupilumab is an effective treatment for asthma. For more information, you can consult a doctor and get the treatment required.